The DOI matches its Crossref record; 39 of the 39 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Short chain fatty acids in human large intestine, portal, hepatic and venous blood
Open accessAbstract
Evidence for the occurrence of microbial breakdown of carbohydrate in the human colon has been sought by measuring short chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations in the contents of all regions of the large intestine and in portal, hepatic and peripheral venous blood obtained at autopsy of sudden death victims within four hours of death. Total SCFA concentration (mmol/kg) was low in the terminal ileum at 13 +/- 6 but high in all regions of the colon ranging from 131 +/- 9 in the caecum to 80 +/- 11 in the descending colon. The presence of branched chain fatty acids was also noted. A significant trend from high to low concentrations was found on passing distally from caecum to descending colon. pH also changed with region from 5.6 +/- 0.2 in the caecum to 6.6 +/- 0.1 in the descending colon. pH and SCFA concentrations were inversely related. Total SCFA (mumol/l) in blood was, portal 375 +/- 70, hepatic 148 +/- 42 and peripheral 79 +/- 22. In all samples acetate was the principal anion but molar ratios of the three principal SCFA changed on going from colonic contents to portal blood to hepatic vein indicating greater uptake of butyrate by the colonic epithelium and propionate by the liver. These data indicate that substantial carbohydrate, and possibly protein, fermentation is occurring in the human large intestine, principally in the caecum and ascending colon and that the large bowel may have a greater role to play in digestion than has previously been ascribed to it.
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“The remainder of butyrate, as well as the majority of propionate, is subsequently metabolized by hepatocytes, resulting in 1-to 15-µmol/L concentrations of propionate and butyrate in circulation, whereas acetate is found within a range of 100-200 µmol/L (Bloemen et al., 2009;Cummings et al., 1987;Peters et al.,”
From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Cummings et al., 1987
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“only a minor fraction of colon-derived acetate, propionate, and butyrate reaches the systemic circulation and other tissues (65).”
From The Role of Short-Chain Fatty Acids From Gut Microbiota in Gut-Brain Communication (2020) · cites this paper as [65]
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“with total colonic contents ranging from 83 to 421 g in a small study of sudden-death victims 12 .”
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“the total weight of the human microbiota is much more likely to be less than 500 g, and perhaps even considerably lower than this in some cases.”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Cummings, J. H., Pomare, E. W., Branch, W. J., Naylor, C. P., & Macfarlane, G. T.
- ORCID
- Cummings, J H
- Venue
- Gut
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 1987-10
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1221-1227
- ISSN
- 0017-5749 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-3288
- PMC
- PMC1433442
- OpenAlex
- W2135232490
- Semantic Scholar
- 0b69822ab4496079e2f7a3e1df829e5fa9a9926c
- Cited by
- 3,119
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 171 · 2025: 194 · 2024: 240 · 2023: 237 · 2022: 277 · 2021: 270 · 2020: 216 · 2019: 180 · 2018: 142 · 2017: 99 · 2016: 113 · 2015: 66 · 2014: 59 · 2013: 66 · 2012: 58
- FWCI
- 5.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Gut (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Otago
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Microbial Metabolites in Food Biotechnology
- Keywords
- short-chain fatty acids, colonic fermentation, cecum, large intestine, portal blood, hepatic vein, peripheral venous blood, propionate, acetate, branched-chain fatty acids, colonic pH, carbohydrate fermentation, protein fermentation, colonic epithelium, human colon
- MeSH terms
- Acetates, Animals, Butyrates, Fatty Acids, Female, Fermentation, Gastrointestinal Contents, Hepatic Veins, Humans, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Intestine, Large, Male, Portal Vein, Propionates, Swine, Acetic Acid, Butyric Acid
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