Cited by 1,939Gut microbiota and healthMicrobial Metabolites in Food BiotechnologyGastrointestinal motility and disorders

Regulation of short-chain fatty acid production

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Macfarlane, Sandra, Macfarlane, George T.·2003·Proceedings of the Nutrition Society

Abstract

Short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) formation by intestinal bacteria is regulated by many different host, environmental, dietary and microbiological factors. In broad terms, however, substrate availability, bacterial species composition of the microbiota and intestinal transit time largely determine the amounts and types of SCFA that are produced in healthy individuals. The majority of SCFA in the gut are derived from bacterial breakdown of complex carbohydrates, especially in the proximal bowel, but digestion of proteins and peptides makes an increasing contribution to SCFA production as food residues pass through the bowel. Bacterial hydrogen metabolism also affects the way in which SCFA are made. This outcome can be seen through the effects of inorganic electron acceptors (nitrate, sulfate) on fermentation processes, where they facilitate the formation of more oxidised SCFA such as acetate, at the expense of more reduced fatty acids, such as butyrate. Chemostat studies using pure cultures of saccharolytic gut micro-organisms demonstrate that C availability and growth rate strongly affect the outcome of fermentation. For example, acetate and formate are the major bifidobacterial fermentation products formed during growth under C limitation, whereas acetate and lactate are produced when carbohydrate is in excess. Lactate is also used as an electron sink in Clostridium perfringens and, to a lesser extent, in Bacteroides fragilis. In the latter organism acetate and succinate are the major fermentation products when substrate is abundant, whereas succinate is decarboxylated to produce propionate when C and energy sources are limiting.

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Crossref · 10.1079/pns2002207

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  • The primary source of SCFAs is the microbial fermentation of specific host-indigestible dietary fibers.

    “The primary source of SCFAs is the microbial fermentation of specific host-indigestible dietary fibers (Baxter et al., 2019;Macfarlane and Macfarlane, 2003)”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Macfarlane and Macfarlane, 2003

  • Human fecal SCFA levels are approximately 60 g/kg for acetate, 10-20 g/kg for propionate, and 3.5-32.6 g/kg for butyrate.

    “Levels of SCFAs in human feces are approximately 60 g/kg for acetate, 10-20 g/kg for propionate and 3.5-32.6g/kg for butyrate (Macfarlane and Macfarlane, 2003;McOrist et al., 2011)”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Macfarlane and Macfarlane, 2003

    The section on host, environmental and microbiological factors reports an approximately 57:22:21 acetate:propionate:butyrate ratio in human large-intestinal contents, not concentrations in feces. Searches for fecal concentrations and the claimed g/kg values found no passage in our copy giving those figures; the figure caption discusses intestinal concentrations but does not supply them. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.74)

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 19

  1. Allison C & Macfarlane GT (1988) Effect of nitrate on methane production and fermentation in slurries of human faecal bacteria. Journal of General Microbiology 134, 1397-1405.
  2. Bernalier A, Dore J & Durand M (1999) Biochemistry of ferment- ation. In Colonic Microbiota, Nutrition and Health, pp. 37-53 [GR Gibson and MB Roberfroid, editors]. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
  3. Cummings JH (1978) Diet and transit through the gut. Journal of Plant Foods 3, 83-95.
  4. Cummings JH, Hill MJ, Bone ES, Branch WJ & Jenkins DJA (1979) The effect of meat protein and dietary fiber on colonic function and metabolism. Part II. Bacterial metabolites in feces and urine. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 32, 2094-2101.
  5. Cummings JH & Macfarlane GT (1991) The control and consequences of bacterial fermentation in the human colon -a review. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 70, 443-459.
  6. Degnan BA (1992) Transport and metabolism of carbohydrates by anaerobic gut bacteria. PhD thesis, University of Cambridge.
  7. DeVries W & Stouthamer AH (1968) Fermentation of glucose, lactose, galactose, mannitol and xylose by bifidobacteria. Journal of Bacteriology 96, 472-478.
  8. Macfarlane GT (1991) Fermentation reactions in the large intestine. In Short Chain Fatty Acids: Metabolism and Clinical Importance, pp. 5-10 [JH Cummings, JL Rombeau and T Sakata, editors]. Columbus, OH: Ross Laboratories Press.
  9. Macfarlane GT & Cummings JH (1991) The colonic flora, fermentation and large bowel digestive function. In The Large Intestine: Physiology, Pathophysiology and Disease, pp. 51-92 [
  10. Macfarlane GT & Englyst HN (1986) Starch utilization by the human large intestinal microflora. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 60, 195-201.
  11. Macfarlane GT & Gibson GR (1994) Metabolic activities of the normal colonic flora. In Human Health: The Contribution of Microorganisms, pp. 17-52 [SAW Gibson, editor]. London: Springer Verlag.
  12. Macfarlane GT & Gibson GR (1995) Microbiological aspects of short chain fatty acid production in the large bowel. In Physio- logical and Clinical Aspects of Short Chain Fatty Acid Metabolism, pp. 87-105 [JH Cummings, JL Rombeau and T Sakata, editors]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  13. Macfarlane GT & Gibson GR (1996) Carbohydrate fermentation, energy transduction and gas metabolism in the human large intestine. In Ecology and Physiology of Gastrointestinal Microbes: Gastrointestinal Fermentations and Ecosystems, pp. 269-318 [RI Mackie and BA White, editors]. New York: Chapman and Hall.
  14. Macfarlane GT, Gibson GR & Cummings JH (1992) Comparison of fermentation reactions in different regions of the human colon. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 72, 57-64.
  15. Macfarlane GT, Gibson GR & Macfarlane S (1994) Short chain fatty acid and lactate production by human intestinal bacteria grown in batch and continuous culture. In Short Chain Fatty Acids, pp. 44-60 [HJ Binder, JH Cummings and KH Soergel, editors]. London: Kluwer Publishing.
  16. Macfarlane S & Macfarlane GT (1995) Proteolysis and amino acid fermentation. In Human Colonic Bacteria: Role in Nutrition, Physiology and Pathology, pp. 75-100 [GR Gibson and GT Macfarlane, editors]. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
  17. Macy JM, Ljungdahl LG & Gottschalk G (1978) Pathway of succinate and propionate formation in Bacteroides fragilis. Journal of Bacteriology 134, 84-91.
  18. Salyers AA (1984) Bacteroides of the human lower intestinal tract. Annual Review in Microbiology 38, 293-313.
  19. Salyers AA & Leedle JAZ (1983) Carbohydrate utilization in the human colon. In Human Intestinal Microflora in Health and Disease, pp. 129-146 [DJ Hentges, editor]. London: Academic Press.

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Authors
Macfarlane, S., & Macfarlane, G. T.
Affiliations
University of Dundee (GB)
Corresponding author
Macfarlane, George T.
Venue
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
Published
2003-02
Volume
62
Issue
1
Pages
67-72
ISSN
  • 0029-6651 (ISSN-L)
  • 1475-2719
OpenAlex
W2163878401
Cited by
1,939
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 92 · 2025: 159 · 2024: 185 · 2023: 157 · 2022: 157 · 2021: 162 · 2020: 151 · 2019: 134 · 2018: 99 · 2017: 105 · 2016: 82 · 2015: 62 · 2014: 79 · 2013: 56 · 2012: 47
FWCI
5.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of The Nutrition Society (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • University of Cambridge
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Microbial Metabolites in Food Biotechnology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
Keywords
short-chain fatty acids, gut microbiota, intestinal fermentation, acetate, butyrate, propionate, lactate, carbohydrate availability, Bacteroides fragilis, Clostridium perfringens, Bifidobacterium, dietary regulation, intestinal transit time
MeSH terms
Animals, Bacteria, Colon, Dietary Carbohydrates, Dietary Proteins, Fatty Acids, Volatile, Fermentation, Gastrointestinal Transit, Humans, Oxidation-Reduction, Bacterial Physiological Phenomena

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