There is a very, serious side to farting, my friends. At this very moment, there are intelligent people huddled in white lab coats studying farts under a microscope and getting paid with a government grant. As much as you may like to fart, is this really your idea of a good time? Would farting be nearly as fun if you had to study them closely day in and day out?

You came to this web site for some fun, but now we're going to teach you something. Put on your hospital gown and read on. This is fart research. Real fart research.

Insights into human colonic physiology obtained from the study of flatus composition.

Suarez F, Furne J, Springfield J, Levitt M
Research Department, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minnesota, USA.

To better understand the physiology of colonic gas production, each flatus passage of 16 subjects over a 4-h period was analyzed by gas chromatography for N2, O2, H2, CO2, CH4, and for odoriferous sulfur-containing gases. Appreciable intraindividual and enormous interindividual variability was observed, indicating that each gas passage reflected the interaction of highly variable liberation and/or removal mechanisms.

The predominant flatus gas was CO2, H2, and N2 in seven, six, and three subjects, respectively. Gases produced intraluminally (H2, CO2, and CH4) comprised approximately 74% of flatus, and rapid CO2 and H2 productions were responsible for high passage rates. A positive correlation between flatus H2 and CO2 suggested that CO2, like H2,mainly was a bacterial product.

Composition:

Nitrogen (N2)
Oxygene (O2)
Carbon Dioxide(CO2)
Hydrogen (H2)
Methane (CH4)
Other components in less portion, but they are responsible by smell (Methyl-Indol, Skatol, Hydrogen Sulfide, Methyl-Mercaptan)