Novel index for assessing the intestinal environment in prebiotic-supplemented healthy adults via non-invasive gas analysis
- 1Department of Research and Development, TOTO LTD
- 2Department of Molecular-Targeting Prevention, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
- 3Department of Human Immunology and Nutrition Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
Abstract
The composition of intestinal gas, a metabolic product of the gut microbiota, may reflect the state of the intestinal environment. However, conventional gas measurement methods are challenging because of their high invasiveness. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the changes in intestinal gas composition and gut microbiota following prebiotic intervention using a novel system—that can non-invasively collect intestinal gas released during daily defecation. We propose a new index for intestinal environment evaluation based on intestinal gas and gut microbiota relationships. Healthy adults consumed inulin and galactooligosaccharides daily for 7 weeks. Intestinal gas was collected for 3 weeks before the intervention and during the last 3 weeks of the intervention. Fecal samples were collected in week 2 before the intervention and week 6 of the intervention. Following intervention, hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases increased significantly, whereas methanethiol decreased significantly. Although not significant, a decreasing trend in hydrogen sulfide was also observed. We proposed an “intestinal gas ratio index (fermentation-to-putrefaction gas ratio)”, demonstrating its strong correlation with dynamic changes in the gut microbiota, particularly the relative abundance of Japanese beneficial bacteria and sulfur-based gas-producing bacteria, and bacterial diversity. Overall, this index serves as a non-invasive functional marker for evaluating the intestinal environment.
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BibTeX
@article{hosokawa2026novel,
title = {{Novel index for assessing the intestinal environment in prebiotic-supplemented healthy adults via non-invasive gas analysis}},
author = {Ayano Hosokawa and Haruna Matsui and Shota Fujino and Daiki Aoki and Hitoaki Higuchi and Katsunori Ishii and Masayuki Oba and Michihiro Mutoh and Yuji Naito},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-59991-w},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-59991-w},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Novel index for assessing the intestinal environment in prebiotic-supplemented healthy adults via non-invasive gas analysis
AU - Ayano Hosokawa
AU - Haruna Matsui
AU - Shota Fujino
AU - Daiki Aoki
AU - Hitoaki Higuchi
AU - Katsunori Ishii
AU - Masayuki Oba
AU - Michihiro Mutoh
AU - Yuji Naito
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-59991-w
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-59991-w
AB - The composition of intestinal gas, a metabolic product of the gut microbiota, may reflect the state of the intestinal environment. However, conventional gas measurement methods are challenging because of their high invasiveness. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the changes in intestinal gas composition and gut microbiota following prebiotic intervention using a novel system—that can non-invasively collect intestinal gas released during daily defecation. We propose a new index for intestinal environment evaluation based on intestinal gas and gut microbiota relationships. Healthy adults consumed inulin and galactooligosaccharides daily for 7 weeks. Intestinal gas was collected for 3 weeks before the intervention and during the last 3 weeks of the intervention. Fecal samples were collected in week 2 before the intervention and week 6 of the intervention. Following intervention, hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases increased significantly, whereas methanethiol decreased significantly. Although not significant, a decreasing trend in hydrogen sulfide was also observed. We proposed an “intestinal gas ratio index (fermentation-to-putrefaction gas ratio)”, demonstrating its strong correlation with dynamic changes in the gut microbiota, particularly the relative abundance of Japanese beneficial bacteria and sulfur-based gas-producing bacteria, and bacterial diversity. Overall, this index serves as a non-invasive functional marker for evaluating the intestinal environment.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -