title: Simultaneous gas-chromatographic measurement of rhamnose, lactulose and sucrose and their application in the testing gastrointestinal permeability.
abstract: 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 degrees C.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The calibration proved linear over the range 0.1-1 microg 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.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Sperimentale, Università Federico II,Via S. Pansini, 5 80131 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristiana
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Abazia
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferrara
authors.forename: Maria Michela
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Corsaro
authors.forename: Gaspare
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barone
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Coccoli
authors.forename: Gianpaolo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parrilli
mesh_terms: D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000652:urine*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D004064:Digestive System / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D007792:Lactulose / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D010539:Permeability; D012210:Rhamnose / Q000652:urine*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013395:Sucrose / Q000652:urine*
chemical_list: D007792:Lactulose; D013395:Sucrose; D012210:Rhamnose