Detection of fecal bile acid components in exclusively breastfed infants with different defecation frequencies and its significance
HE Cheng-hui
SHAN Zi-hong
HE Qing-qing
YANG Qing-yao
CHEN Yan
ZHANG Yuan-yuan
LI Meng
XIONG Jing-jing
LI Zhan-hua
HUANG Yong-kun
Abstract：Objective To study the correlation between the changes in the content of individual bile acid components in the feces of infants who are exclusively breastfed and the frequency of defecation,in order to find the differential metabolites of bile acid which regulate the defecation frequencies of infants and provide beneficial suggestions for clinical intervention.Methods Totally 102 healthy,full-term,exclusively breastfed infants aged 0.5-6 months were selected,who underwent health consultations and regular check-ups at the Pediatric Outpatient and Preventive Health Care Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from September 2022 to May 2023.Fecal specimens were collected from these infants and categorized into three groups based on different defecation frequencies.The groups included the increased defecation frequency group(defecating more than 3 times per day,Group A,n=34),the decreased defecation frequency group(defecating once in more than 3 days or needing assistance to defecate,Group B,n=32),and the control group(defecating less than or equal to 3 times per day or defecating once within 3 days,Group C,n=36).The content of bile acids was detected in feces by UPLC-MS/MS.Results Chenodeoxycholic acid levels were significantly higher in group A than in groups C and B(P＜0.017),Ursodeoxycholic acid levels were significantly higher in group B than in groups C and A(P＜0.017).The difference in deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid were statistically significant between group A and group B(P＜0.017).When comparing the levels of cholic acid and glycochenodeoxycholic acid among the three groups,no statistically significant difference was found.Conclusion Chenodeoxycholic acid and ursodeoxycholic acid may serve as potential differential metabolites associated with increased or decreased defecation frequency in exclusively breastfed infants.
Keywords：breastfeedinginfantsdefecation frequencyfecal metabolitesbile acids
Publication Date：2025-01-05
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 54-59 )