GI & Microbiome
Gut absorption, pancreatic function, and the microbiome — mapped by a few clever markers.
The gastrointestinal markers are unusually good at localising a problem, because where a substance is absorbed or made tells you where things have gone wrong.
B12 is absorbed in the lower gut and folate in the upper gut, so the two read together roughly map where intestinal disease sits — and a high-folate, low-B12 pattern is a classic fingerprint of small-intestinal dysbiosis (an altered microbiome). TLI checks the pancreas's output of digestive enzymes; a low value is the defining test for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, a treatable cause of weight loss despite a big appetite.
Two things make this panel especially satisfying. First, some of its findings are directly correctable — a low B12 can simply be supplemented while the gut heals. Second, it connects to the emerging science of the microbiome, where a validated dysbiosis index is beginning to put a number on gut bacterial balance. Read together and tracked over time, these markers turn vague, chronic gut trouble into something localisable and manageable.
Parameters in this panel
- Cobalamin (B12)Dogs & cats
B12 is a vitamin absorbed in the lower gut, so a low level can signal a gut or microbiome problem — and, unusually for a lab finding, it's one you can often correct directly with supplementation. That makes a low B12 both a useful clue and an actionable one.
- FolateDogs & cats
Folate is a vitamin absorbed in the upper gut, so reading it alongside B12 (absorbed lower down) helps pinpoint where in the digestive tract a problem sits. Both extremes carry meaning, and the pattern of the two vitamins together is more useful than either alone.
- TLIDogs & cats
TLI checks whether the pancreas is producing enough digestive enzymes. A low value is the defining test for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) — a treatable cause of weight loss despite a big appetite — so it turns a frustrating, mysterious problem into a manageable one.
- Pancreatic Lipase (Spec cPL / fPL)Dogs & cats
Pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity is the most specific blood test for pancreatitis, because it measures lipase made only by the pancreas — unlike the old catalytic lipase and amylase, which pick up enzymes from elsewhere. It supports the diagnosis but doesn't stand alone: imaging and clinical signs complete the picture.
- LipaseDogs & cats
Lipase is the fat-digesting enzyme, measured on most standard chemistry panels. Traditional lipase is poorly specific for pancreatitis because other tissues contribute and kidney disease raises it — the newer DGGR method performs much better, and pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity is better still.
- AmylaseDogs & cats
Amylase is the starch-digesting enzyme, historically measured to investigate pancreatitis. It is now regarded as a poor test for that purpose — too many non-pancreatic sources and too easily raised by kidney disease — and it has been largely superseded by pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity.
- Faecal Testing (Fecal Dx & Parasite Screens)Dogs & cats
Faecal testing screens for intestinal parasites, and modern antigen tests detect worm proteins rather than eggs — which matters because worms shed eggs intermittently, so traditional flotation misses infections. Antigen and flotation together catch considerably more than either alone.
- Dysbiosis IndexDogs & cats
The Dysbiosis Index is a quantitative PCR measure of gut bacterial balance from a faecal sample — the validated microbiome test, distinct from consumer wellness sequencing. It gives the gut a single number, but it is read against a laboratory-specific scale rather than a universal reference band.