Determination of Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Mouse Feces by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Using 2-Nitrophenylhydrazine As a Labeling Reagent

It has been suggested that imbalances in gut microbiota are related to diseases associated with metabolism, the central nervous system, etc. Therefore, analysis of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by gut microbiota is very important as an indicator of causation, demonstrating the effects on the host due to changes in the gut microbiota. We developed a HPLC method for the determination of SCFAs in mouse feces. After homogenization, the SCFAs in mouse feces and 2-ethylbutyric acid (internal standard) were derivatized with 2-nitrophenylhydrazine (2-NPH) in the presence of 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide. The 2-NPH derivatives of SCFAs and the internal standard were separated on a reversed-phase column (octadecyl silyl column) by gradient elution using phosphoric acid (pH 2.5)-acetonitrile at 50°C and detected by absorbance measurement at 400 nm. The recovery of the method was 90-115%, with a precision (relative standard deviation) of 1.3-7.7%. The determination of SCFAs by the present method can provide useful information for biological and clinical research.