Research
Mixed
Fecal processing methods (freezing and homogenization) can significantly alter the relative abundance of specific bacterial taxa, particularly increasing Faecalibacterium, Streptococcus, and Bifidobacterium, while decreasing Oscillospira, Bacteroides, and Parabacteroides.
When comparing gut microbiome studies, be aware that how the stool was processed (frozen/homogenized vs. fresh/unmixed) can change the reported levels of specific bacteria like Faecalibacterium and Bacteroides. This is a technical artifact, not necessarily a biological difference.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Stools that were frozen and then homogenized tended to have higher proportions of Faecalibacterium, Streptococcus, and Bifidobacterium and decreased quantities of Oscillospira, Bacteroides, and Parabacteroides compared to stools that were collected in small quantities and not mixed prior to DNA extraction.
Why this rating
Consistent findings across multiple subjects and processing methods for specific taxa.
Source
Impact of Different Fecal Processing Methods on Assessments of Bacterial Diversity in the Human Intestine
Yu‐Hsin Hsieh et al. · Frontiers in Microbiology · 2016
DOI 10.3389/fmicb.2016.01643
original_research · n=6Cited 56×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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