Reviewer's report
Title:Differences in gut microbial metabolism are responsible for reduced
hippurate synthesis in Crohn's disease.
Version: 1Date:31 August 2010
Reviewer: Carolyn Slupsky
Reviewer's report:
The manuscript entitled “Differences in gut microbial metabolism are responsible
for reduced hippurate synthesis in Crohn’s disease” by Williams et al. is a
manuscript that measures hippurate excretion in control and CD patients using
1H NMR spectroscopy before and after ingestion of benzoate while subjects are
on a low benzoate diet. After ingestion, the amount of hippurate in the urine of
the control group and the Crohn’s group was similar, with a larger increase in
hippurate in the Crohn’s group as compared to the control group. This was
attributed to the enzyme kinetics of the synthesis of hippurate in the liver and
kidney cells. Based on these results, the authors suggest that lower levels of
hippurate in Crohn's disease patients are due to altered gut microbial metabolism
rather than a defect in hippurate synthesis.
This is a well-written manuscript, and the experiments seem sound. I recommend
publication of this article as is.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a
statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.
Reviewer's report
Title:Differences in gut microbial metabolism are responsible for reduced
hippurate synthesis in Crohn's disease.
Version: 1Date:31 August 2010
Reviewer: Carolyn Slupsky
Reviewer's report:
The manuscript entitled “Differences in gut microbial metabolism are responsible
for reduced hippurate synthesis in Crohn’s disease” by Williams et al. is a
manuscript that measures hippurate excretion in control and CD patients using
1H NMR spectroscopy before and after ingestion of benzoate while subjects are
on a low benzoate diet. After ingestion, the amount of hippurate in the urine of
the control group and the Crohn’s group was similar, with a larger increase in
hippurate in the Crohn’s group as compared to the control group. This was
attributed to the enzyme kinetics of the synthesis of hippurate in the liver and
kidney cells. Based on these results, the authors suggest that lower levels of
hippurate in Crohn's disease patients are due to altered gut microbial metabolism
rather than a defect in hippurate synthesis.
This is a well-written manuscript, and the experiments seem sound. I recommend
publication of this article as is.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a
statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.
Please review this paper.
user
Reviewer's report
Title:Differences in gut microbial metabolism are responsible for reduced
hippurate synthesis in Crohn's disease.
Version: 1Date:31 August 2010
Reviewer: Carolyn Slupsky
Reviewer's report:
The manuscript entitled “Differences in gut microbial metabolism are responsible
for reduced hippurate synthesis in Crohn’s disease” by Williams et al. is a
manuscript that measures hippurate excretion in control and CD patients using
1H NMR spectroscopy before and after ingestion of benzoate while subjects are
on a low benzoate diet. After ingestion, the amount of hippurate in the urine of
the control group and the Crohn’s group was similar, with a larger increase in
hippurate in the Crohn’s group as compared to the control group. This was
attributed to the enzyme kinetics of the synthesis of hippurate in the liver and
kidney cells. Based on these results, the authors suggest that lower levels of
hippurate in Crohn's disease patients are due to altered gut microbial metabolism
rather than a defect in hippurate synthesis.
This is a well-written manuscript, and the experiments seem sound. I recommend
publication of this article as is.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a
statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.
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