Metabolomics analysis of the saliva in patients with chronic hepatitis B using nuclear magnetic resonance: a pilot study

Objective(s): Hepatitis B virus infection causes chronic disease such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The metabolomics investigations have been demonstrated to be related to pathophysiologic mechanisms in many disorders such as hepatitis B infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the saliva metabolic profile of patients with chronic hepatitis B infection and to identify underlying mechanisms as well as potential biomarkers associated with the disease. Materials and Methods: Saliva from 16 healthy subjects and 20 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Then, multivariate statistical analysis was performed to identify discriminative metabolites between two groups. Results: A set of metabolites were detected, including propionic acid, putrescine, acetic acid, succinic acid, tyrosine, lactic acid, butyric acid, pyruvic acid, 4-pyridoxic acid and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, which in combination with one another could accurately distinguish patients from healthy controls. Our results clearly demonstrated altered metabolites are involved in nine metabolic pathways. Conclusion: Metabolomics has the potential to be considered as a novel clinical tool for hepatitis B diagnosis while contributing to a comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms.