Systemic availability and metabolism of colonic‐derived short‐chain fatty acids in healthy subjects: a stable isotope study
Open accessAbstract
Key points: The short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are bacterial metabolites produced during the colonic fermentation of undigested carbohydrates, such as dietary fibre and prebiotics, and can mediate the interaction between the diet, the microbiota and the host. We quantified the fraction of colonic administered SCFAs that could be recovered in the systemic circulation, the fraction that was excreted via the breath and urine, and the fraction that was used as a precursor for glucose, cholesterol and fatty acids. This information is essential for understanding the molecular mechanisms by which SCFAs beneficially affect physiological functions such as glucose and lipid metabolism and immune function. The short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs), acetate, propionate and butyrate, are bacterial metabolites that mediate the interaction between the diet, the microbiota and the host. In the present study, the systemic availability of SCFAs and their incorporation into biologically relevant molecules was quantified. Known amounts of 13 C‐labelled acetate, propionate and butyrate were introduced in the colon of 12 healthy subjects using colon delivery capsules and plasma levels of 13 C‐SCFAs 13 C‐glucose, 13 C‐cholesterol and 13 C‐fatty acids were measured. The butyrate‐producing capacity of the intestinal microbiota was also quantified. Systemic availability of colonic‐administered acetate, propionate and butyrate was 36%, 9% and 2%, respectively. Conversion of acetate into butyrate (24%) was the most prevalent interconversion by the colonic microbiota and was not related to the butyrate‐producing capacity in the faecal samples. Less than 1% of administered acetate was incorporated into cholesterol and <15% in fatty acids. On average, 6% of colonic propionate was incorporated into glucose. The SCFAs were mainly excreted via the lungs after oxidation to 13 CO 2 , whereas less than 0.05% of the SCFAs were excreted into urine. These results will allow future evaluation and quantification of SCFA production from 13 C‐labelled fibres in the human colon by measurement of 13 C‐labelled SCFA concentrations in blood.
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Exogenously administered SCFAs are metabolized in the same SCFA-specific preferential manner (butyrate > propionate > acetate).
“This is supported by reports showing that exogenously administered SCFAs are metabolized in the same SCFA-specific preferential manner (i.e., butyrate > propionate > acetate) (Boets et al., 2017).”
From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Boets et al., 2017
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- Authors
- Boets, E., Gomand, S. V., Deroover, L., Preston, T., Vermeulen, K., De Preter, V., Hamer, H. M., Van den Mooter, G., De Vuyst, L., Courtin, C. M., Annaert, P., Delcour, J. A., & Verbeke, K. A.
- Affiliations
- KU Leuven (BE)
- Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (GB)
- Ghent University (BE)
- Translational Research in Gastrointestinal Disorders
- Drug Delivery and Disposition KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
- Industrial Microbiology and Food Biotechnology Vrije Universiteit Brussel Brussel Belgium
- Corresponding author
- Verbeke, Kristin A.
- ORCID
- Venue
- The Journal of Physiology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2016-09-18
- Volume
- 595
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 541-555
- ISSN
- 0022-3751 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-7793
- PMC
- PMC5233652
- OpenAlex
- W2508203511
- Cited by
- 443
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 73 · 2025: 59 · 2024: 57 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 58 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 10.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- The Journal of Physiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion)
- Lirias (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion)
- VUBIR (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- W. K. Kellogg Chair in Cereal Science and Nutrition
- Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders (FWO-G.0109.07, FWO-1.5.131.10)
- 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, colonic fermentation, acetate, propionate, butyrate, systemic availability, colonic microbiota, urinary excretion, cholesterol biosynthesis, fatty acid synthesis, glucose incorporation, dietary fiber, prebiotics, gut microbiota-host interactions
- MeSH terms
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Adult, Capsules, Carbon Isotopes, Cholesterol, Colon, Fatty Acids, Volatile, Female, Glucose, Humans, Male, Cross-Over Studies, Young Adult, Healthy Volunteers
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