Product Description
Clinically Studied Short Chain Fatty Acid (SCFA) For Gut Health and Detoxification
Encourages Formation of Friendly Bacteria in the Gut
Supports Epithelial Cells in the Colon
Lowers Expression of Inflammatory Immune markers
Detoxifies Ammonia
Butyrate (sometimes called butyric acid) is a short chain fatty acid (SCFA).
It is made in the lower colon by bacteria and taken up by the colonocytes, the cells that line the colon. It then becomes an important food for those cells. Butyrate is a postbiotic.
Even though we have the potential to make our own butyrate, lacking good bacteria in our colon, such as when we take antibiotics or have gut dysbiosis, can lead to an insufficient supply of butyrate. This is a problem for many people in western countries.
Butyrate scrubs and cleans the liver, the gall bladder and the biliary tree. It also cleans the bowel, controls ammonia, removes ‘renegade’ fats (the very long ones that accumulate with age) and lowers the expression of inflammatory immune markers called cytokines.
Butyrate is a potent detoxifier of ammonia and neurotoxins. Butyrate also encourages the formation of friendly bacteria in the gut.
“Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), particularly butyrate, were shown to regulate cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Indeed, butyrate is the major fuel for colonic epithelial cells, and it can influence cell proliferation through the release of growth factors or gastrointestinal peptides such as gastrin, or through modulation of mucosal blood flow. Lastly, SCFA can act directly on genes regulating cell proliferation and butyrate is the main SCFA to display such an effect.”
— Herve M. Blottiere, 2003, Ph.D., Tumor Immunology
Dr. Blottiere is the Director of Research at INRA, the French National Research Institute for Agricultural and Food Research. He also co-developed a functional metagenomics approach to study host microbiota cross talk.
Other Sources of Butyrate
Butyrate is naturally found in butter. (Butyrate comes from the Greek word for butter.) Butyric acid is also found in milk (especially goat, sheep and buffalo), and parmesan cheese.
Microbes in your gut can also naturally make butyrate when they “feed on” resistant starches (fiber that resists digestion) that you eat. Resistant starch is found in many carbohydrate-rich foods such as potatoes, grains like rice, beans, oats, and green bananas.
Published Studies on Butyrate
These are great articles that go into more detail if you want to know more about the research and science behind butyrate.
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 in ammation 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, includ- ing 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.”
Butyrate, neuroepigenetics and the gut microbiome- Can a high fiber diet improve brain health?
Abstract
“As interest in the gut microbiome has grown in recent years, attention has turned to the impact of our diet on our brain. The benefits of a high fiber diet in the colon have been well documented in epidemiological studies, but its potential impact on the brain has largely been understudied. Here, we will review evidence that butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced by bacterial fermentation of fiber in the colon, can improve brain health. Butyrate has been extensively studied as a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor but also functions as a ligand for a subset of G protein-coupled receptors and as an energy metabolite.
These diverse modes of action make it well suited for solving the wide array of imbalances frequently encountered in neurological disorders. In this review, we will integrate evidence from the disparate fields of gastroenterology and neuroscience to hypothesize that the metabolism of a high fiber diet in the gut can alter gene expression in the brain to prevent neurodegeneration and promote regeneration.”
Note: Because butyrate is anti-inflammatory, it has the potential to lower inflammatory markers such as CRP and homocysteine.
When taking butyrate for gut health, I often include Megasporebiotic as part of the protocol.
Cal-Mag Butyrate is manufactured for BodyBio.
