Simultaneous gas-chromatographic measurement of rhamnose, lactulose and sucrose and their application in the testing gastrointestinal permeability

• Published in: Clinica chimica acta 2003-12, Vol.338 (1), p.25-32
• Main Authors: Abazia, Cristiana, Ferrara, Renata, Corsaro, Maria Michela, Barone, Gaspare, Coccoli, Pietro, Parrilli, Gianpaolo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Celiac disease; Celiac Disease - diagnosis; Celiac Disease - physiopathology; Celiac Disease - urine; Chromatography, Gas; Digestive System - metabolism; Digestive System - physiopathology; Female; Gastric and intestinal permeability; GC methods; Humans; Intestinal Absorption; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Lactulose - urine; Male; Medical sciences; Permeability; Rhamnose - urine; Sensitivity and Specificity; Sucrose - urine; Sugars; Urine
• ISSN: 0009-8981; 1873-3492
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cccn.2003.07.018

Background: As it is important to test gastric and intestinal permeability simultaneously in gastrointestinal disorders such as Celiac disease, we developed a gas-chromatographic (GC) method to estimate rhamnose ( l-rh), lactulose (Lacl) and sucrose (Suc) in urine. Methods: The method is based on the use of alditol acetate derivatives giving a lower number of GC peaks than reducing sugars do. Acetate derivatives are more stable and less expensive than GC silylates and keep the flame-detector cleaner. We checked the chemical stability of alditol acetates by verifying the reproducibility of the standard curve of a sugar derivative sample which had been stored for 2 months at −20 °C. Results: The calibration proved linear over the range 0.1–1 μg of sugar injected. Analytical sugar recovery was 88%±19.4% (mean±S.D.) for rhamnose, 105%±7.4% for sucrose and 102%±2.4% for lactulose. Mean within-day precision (CV) was 7.7% for rhamnose, 5.7% for sucrose and 1.9% for lactulose, and between-day (CV) was 6.7% for rhamnose, 3.9% for sucrose and 1.6% for lactulose. The rhamnose, lactulose and sucrose as the lactulose/rhamnose ratio clearly differentiated 25 healthy controls from 36 patients with active gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Conclusions: A fast, reliable and cheap gas-chromatographic method is presented here to evaluate gastric and intestinal permeability.