To pool or not to pool? Impact of the use of individual and pooled fecal samples for in vitro fermentation studies

In vitrophenotypic differentiation towards commensal and pathogenic oral biofilms

“…Based on the experiments described the use of a pooled inoculum can be recommended. This is in line with a previous report on a fecal biofilm model, where a pooled inoculum resulted in a similar biofilm composition and phenotypes as biofilms inoculated with individual samples (Aguirre et al 2014).…”

Development of an In Vivo and In Vitro Ileal Fermentation Method in a Growing Pig Model

“…With in vitro hindgut fermentation studies, it is common practice to obtain fresh feces from 3-5 subjects in an attempt to obtain a representative microbial population (33). Therefore, for the in vitro ileal fermentation assay, equal amounts of ileal digesta were collected from each of 5 pigs and mixed to provide a composite sample.…”

Comparative study of the in vitro fermentative characteristics of fenugreek gum, white bread and bread with fenugreek gum using human faecal microbes

“…Pooling faeces may have resulted in the dominant microbial community fermenting the substrates, through niche exclusion. Although Aguirre et al 2014 concluded microbiota did not exhibit varying effects whether faecal samples came from individual donors or pooled, they did find branched chain fatty acid production was influenced by inter individual variation. Furthermore, Aguirre et al 2014 did not state relevant features of their donors, such as type of diet consumed e.g.…”