OBJECTIVETo evaluate the feasibility of identifying oral pathogenic bacteria by comparing the metabolic profiling of putative periodontal pathogens and try to find a convenient and rapid way to discriminate oral microorganisms.

METHODSSuspensions of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia and Fusobacterium nucleatum with same density were prepared and cultured respectively at liquid BHI medium. Then the growth quantity was measured periodically through turbidimetry and the growth curves of the inoculated bacteria were completed. The culture solutions of stable growth phase were sampled and characterized by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance 1H-NMR). The data of 1H-NMR spectroscope results were analyzed by principal components analysis (PCA).

RESULTSThe PCA showed the obvious clustering phenomena and the points of three groups differentially centralized to three clusters. Therefore, the NMR-based metabonomics profiles could discriminate the three different kinds of bacteria.

CONCLUSIONThe metabonomics is a potential classable method to identify the oral pathogenic bacteria.