Rapid postbiotic measurements by separations and mass spectrometry

Overview

This research program develops rapid, multi-platform analytical methods to measure postbiotics in fermented plant-based foods such as oats, rice, beans, and potatoes. Postbiotics, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), amino acids, vitamins, and bile acids, are bioactive compounds produced or modified through microbial fermentation and are increasingly linked to gut health and nutritional quality. The work investigates how interactions between plant genotypes and fermentation microorganisms change postbiotic profiles, offering food producers, nutrition researchers, and supplement developers a faster path to characterizing functional ingredients.

Technical specifications

Analytical platforms and methods:

• Capillary electrophoresis with indirect photometric detection using adenosine monophosphate as a buffer reagent for low-cost SCFA quantification (acetic, propionic, and butyric acids)
• Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with derivatization for SCFA profiling and time-dependent metabolite tracking in fermented substrates
• Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for profiling vitamin B, vitamin K, amino acids, bile acids, and dipeptides
• Acetonitrile/isopropanol/water extraction followed by centrifugation to prepare fermented and unfermented samples for comparison
• Principal component analysis and machine learning approaches for multivariate comparison of metabolite levels across samples and conditions

Key features:

• Validated CE-IPD assay previously applied to detect antibiotic- and cocaine-induced SCFA depletion in rat feces
• Demonstrated capability to differentiate phytochemical content across rice varieties after fermentation
• Complementary separation and mass spectrometry techniques allow broad coverage of postbiotic classes

Technology readiness level

The CE-based SCFA detection method has been validated in prior animal-model studies, and GC-MS metabolite profiling of fermented rice bran has been demonstrated in published work. The program is currently at the validation stage, with planned experiments to benchmark CE-IPD against GC-MS derivatization methods and to expand LC-MS profiling of additional postbiotic classes. The approach is positioned for further development and partnership-driven scaling toward routine quality and research applications in functional food and nutrition science.