Potential beneficial effects of butyrate in intestinal and extraintestinal diseases

Abstract

The multiple beneficial effects on human health of the short-chain fatty acid butyrate, synthesized from non-absorbed carbohydrate by colonic microbiota, are well documented. At the intestinal level, butyrate plays a regulatory role on the transepithelial fluid transport, ameliorates mucosal inflammation and oxidative status, reinforces the epithelial defense barrier, and modulates visceral sensitivity and intestinal motility. In addition, a growing number of studies have stressed the role of butyrate in the prevention and inhibition of colorectal cancer. At the extraintestinal level, butyrate exerts potentially useful effects on many conditions, including hemoglobinopathies, genetic metabolic diseases, hypercholesterolemia, insulin resistance, and ischemic stroke. The mechanisms of action of butyrate are different; many of these are related to its potent regulatory effects on gene expression. These data suggest a wide spectrum of positive effects exerted by butyrate, with a high potential for a therapeutic use in human medicine.

Expert consensus document: The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) consensus statement on the definition and scope of prebiotics

“…Bifidobacteria, often stimulated by specific prebiotics, do not produce butyrate, so a probable scenario is that cross feeding by other bac teria must have resulted in production of this SCFA. Much has been reported about the benefits of butyrate in the gut and beyond 54 , leading to the potential of known butyrate producers such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Eubacterium rectale or Roseburia spp. as possible pro biotics and, therefore, new prebiotic targets.…”

Butyric Acid as an Antibiotic Substitute for Broiler Chicken A Review

“…Further, an increase in the villus height and villus height to crypt depth ratio are directly correlated with increased epithelial cell turnover (Fan et al, 1997) and an indicator of activated intestinal villi function (Langhout et al, 1999;Shamoto and Yamauchi, 2000) and it also stimulates intestinal blood flow. In addition, butyrate of stimulates cell growth and differentiation of normal cells and apoptosis (early cell death) of tumour cells which represents'butyrate paradox' (Canani et al, 2011).Previous studies showed increased jejunum villi height (Adil et al, 2010;Jerzsele et al, 2012;Chamba et al, 2014), villi height to crypt depth ratio (Hu and Guo, 2007;Shahir et al, 2013) and comparable crypt depth (Hu and Guo, 2007;Adil et al, 2010;Smulikowska et al, 2009;Chamba et al, 2014;Sayrafi et al, 2011;Antongiovanni et al, 2007) by supplementation of different forms of butyric acid. Lakshmi and Sunder (2015) 0.25 Liver weight + Aghazadeh and Yazdi (2012) It is clear from the Table 4 that inclusion of BA in broiler diet improves the weight of carcass indicating anabolic effect in broiler chicken.…”

Epigenetic mechanisms elicited by nutrition in early life

“…The SCFA butyrate, a main endproduct of microbial fermentation of dietary fibres in the human intestine, plays an important role in the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis and overall health status. The effects exerted by butyrate are multiple from the gut to the peripheral issues with a high potential for a therapeutic use in human medicine (57) . Butyrate is part of a class of epigenetic factors known as HDAC inhibitors, with several functions such as anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenesis effects.…”