What is Butyrate? Benefits, Role, Side Effects, and More - Perfect Keto

By now, many people are aware of the benefits of probiotics and prebiotics — healthy bacteria and their food supply, respectively. However, have you heard about the postbiotic butyrate?

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Postbiotics, including butyrate, are the end products of microbial fermentation. Butyrate is one big reason why prebiotics and probiotics are so great for our health. What’s even better? Butyrate supplements can help you to take advantage of the benefits of postbiotics, maybe even faster than if you chose a prebiotic or probiotic.

In this guide, we’ll review what butyrate is, its benefits, and how to pick the best postbiotic or butyrate supplements.

What is Butyrate?

Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) that’s produced in the large intestine as a result of bacterial fermentation. As the beneficial bacteria that reside in your gut digest their food — consisting of prebiotics and fibers — they produce butyrate and other SCFAs that can then be used by the body (*).

Many of the health benefits of prebiotic and probiotic supplements — and of a healthy, balanced gut microbiome — are thought to be because of the effects of butyrate and other SCFAs.

Butyrate and other SCFAs are available in supplemental form as “postbiotics.” Additionally, there are some combination prebiotic-probiotic-postbiotic supplements available called “synbiotics.”

What are the Types of Butyrate?

Butyrate supplements are available in a few different forms, including:

• Tributyrin
• Sodium butyrate
• Calcium/magnesium butyrate

Although sodium butyrate is the most common type, it may not be the easiest for your body to absorb. Although more research is needed to fully understand the best form of butyrate, many research studies have shown positive results from tributyrin supplementation (*).

Additionally, the ketone beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) contains a butyrate component. However, it doesn’t behave exactly like butyrate does. Still, researchers have found that using supplemental BHB and butyrate together may have a synergistic effect — making each supplement more effective than it would be otherwise (*).

How is Butyrate Produced in the Body?

Butyrate is a product of microbial fermentation.

When the bacteria in your large intestine break down fiber (which is indigestible to you, but easily digestible by gut bacteria), they create and release butyrate and other SCFAs.

These SCFAs can then be used by other cells in the body.

What is the Role of Butyrate in Our Body?

Butyrate has many roles in the body. Once it’s produced by the gut bacteria, it can be used by colonocytes (cells in the large intestine) for energy (*).

However, it has a number of secondary roles and benefits too — including reduced inflammation, improved gut health, optimized brain function, weight and blood glucose management, and more.

Butyric Deficiency Symptoms

Poor gut health and an imbalanced gut microbiome may affect the capacity of your gut bacteria to produce butyrate.

Researchers have found that people with a condition called myalgic encephalopathy, or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), have low levels of butyrate-producing bacteria (*).

Some other potential symptoms of gut microbiota imbalances may include (*):

• Bloating
• Abdominal pain
• Gas
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Brain fog
• Getting sick often

What are the Health Benefits of Butyrate?

There are numerous potential health benefits of butyrate supplementation and of balancing the gut microbiome to encourage the production of butyrate and other SCFAs. These include:

• Weight management: Butyrate may offer a protective effect against weight gain and obesity. Researchers have noted that certain abnormalities in SCFA production have been linked to weight gain, so addressing these problems by boosting gut health and SCFA production may offer beneficial effects for weight and appetite (*).
• Liver health: In a mouse study, researchers found that butyrate helped protect against non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, a type of liver disease. It could potentially be helpful for liver protection in humans, although human studies haven’t specifically investigated this yet (*).
• Digestive health: Butyrate may also help improve digestive health since it can be used as an energy source for digestive cells. Increased SCFA production within the body could also be a sign that microbial balance in your large intestine is improving (*).
• Brain function: The gut-brain axis allows for cross-communication between the brain and the intestines. SCFAs produced in the large intestine may help to regulate gene expression in the brain, which could help to improve brain health and prevent the development of neurological disorders (*).
• Inflammation: Butyrate may also have anti-inflammatory effects, especially within the digestive tract. Research has shown it may be helpful for inflammatory bowel disease (*).
• Metabolic health: Probiotic therapy has been shown to help with type 2 diabetes management. This may be in part due to the effects of butyrate and other SCFAs on glucose regulation (*).

What Foods Help with Butyrate Production?

Most foods are not naturally high in butyrate. However, fiber-rich and fermented foods may help to encourage the microbial fermentation that produces butyrate in your large intestine. These foods include:

• Fruits: berries, bananas, apples, oranges, grapes,
• Vegetables: potatoes, greens, carrots, parsnips, turnips, radishes, peppers, cucumber, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, garlic, avocado
• Grains: quinoa, rice, barley, oats, corn, popcorn
• Legumes: lentils, beans, peanuts
• Nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, walnuts
• Seeds: chia seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds
• Fermented foods: sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kefir, fermented pickles, yogurt

Certain foods are high in resistant starch, a unique type of prebiotic fiber that may help support increased butyrate production. These foods include cooked and cooled rice, cooked and cooled potatoes, oats (particularly if they are soaked, such as overnight oats), plantains, and green bananas (*).

Butyrate and Butyric Acid Supplements

Butyrate supplements are widely available. You can purchase standalone butyrate or butyric acid supplements, such as the different types we listed above, or you can purchase a postbiotic or synbiotic. Most postbiotic and synbiotic supplements contain butyrate in some form.

It may be a good idea to take these supplements if you suspect you have poor gut health, if you’re experiencing any symptoms of gut microbiota imbalance, or if your healthcare provider recommends gut health supplements.

You may also consider taking butyrate supplements if you don’t eat many fiber-rich or fermented foods.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website butyric acid benefits.

What is the Recommended Dosage of Butyrate?

Currently, the recommended dosage of butyrate in supplemental form is 150-300 milligrams per day (*).

However, research suggests that this recommendation may be too low for certain conditions. If you have any concerns about the ideal butyrate dosage for your needs, be sure to speak with your healthcare provider (*).

Are There Any Side Effects or Risks Associated with Butyrate?

Like any dietary supplement, there is a potential for side effects from taking butyrate.

In one study on butyrate on obesity in children, researchers noted that some participants experienced mild nausea and headache. However, it’s important to note that — of 54 participants in the study — only two reported these side effects (*).

Additionally, researchers have noted that an overdose of butyrate in rats caused an immediate and dangerous drop in body temperature (*).

The Bottom Line

Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid produced in the large intestine by healthy gut bacteria as they digest prebiotic fiber. It has a number of potential health benefits, including better digestive health, improved weight management and metabolic health, and better brain function.

Butyrate is also available as a supplement, either as a standalone butyrate or butyric acid supplement or in a postbiotic or synbiotic supplement blend.

You can also naturally improve the microbial balance in your gut and promote healthy SCFA production by eating a fiber-rich diet and including probiotics or fermented foods in your normal routine.

Interested in the benefits of beta-hydroxybutyrate and butyrate in combination? Be sure to check out our line-up of BHB-infused products — including BHB capsules and our Base ketone drink mix — to help you thrive in ketosis.

17 References

Indigestible carbohydrates (prebiotics) increase colonic butyrate concentration, which is thought to be responsible for its beneficial effects. In inflammation caused by oxidative stress, damage to the integrity of cell-cell connections and an increase in cell permeability may occur, depending on the extent and duration of the oxidative effect.
The therapeutic value of the protective n-butyrate improves the intestinal epithelium’s barrier function, maintains a healthy intestinal flora, and promotes the regeneration of intestinal epithelial cells.

Butyric acid treatment

Decrease in cell layer resistance induced by acute oxidative stress after low-dose butyrate treatment decreased, indicating that the role of a mechanical barrier is strengthened. Based on experimental results, the composition of the intestinal flora has become favorable.
The number of beneficial lactic acid bacteria and the amount of L-lactic acid they produce in the small intestine also increased. Butyrate affects the coliform bacteria; it can also be used effectively to prevent and overcome the development of infectious conditions in the intestinal tract.

Specific benefits of Butyrate for the gut:

Maintenance of normal intestinal bacteria
Increased absorption of macronutrients
It is an essential element of intestinal homeostasis
Improves tight junctions in leaky gut
Improves the mucus layers of the gut
Helps gut cells to kill pathogens
Keeps the oxygen levels in the colon low
Regeneration of the intestinal mucosa
Reduces the incidence of IBS symptoms
Intestinal pain after antibiotic treatment

But Butyrate has shown benefits for the whole body

Supports mast cells and modulates histamine
Supports the immune system by lowering inflammation and helping reduce autoimmunity
May improve skin issues
May help with allergies and asthma
Can protect against alcohol-induced leaky gut and inflammation
It is considered cancer protective has shown anticancer effect
In mice, studies showed improvement in insulin sensitivity, mitochondrial density, and satiety after eating
In mice, research showed it helped the brain recover from strokes
Support weight loss with increasing Bacteroidetes in the gut. – Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes are two major groups in the gut. Having more Firmicutes than Bacteroidetes is associated with weight gain and obesity.

How it works:

4 levels of leaky gut:

Loosening of the tight junctions in the gut lining – allows food and other things to pass through to the bloodstream
Loss of mucus layer in the gut
Low good bacteria species
Loss of ability to kill pathogens in the gut

Butyrate’s effect on leaky gut:

Improves the tight junctions in the gut lining
Supports healing mucus layers in the gut
Increases good bacteria in the gut
Supports cells to kill pathogens in the gut
Butyrate supports the gut at the cellular level.

Studies have shown that people who have the following conditions tend to be low in butyrate:

Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Crohn’s Disease
Ulcerative Colitis
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
IBS-C (constipation-dominant)
IBS-D (diarrhea-dominant)
Type 1 diabetes
Obesity
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Parkinson’s DiseaseHo
Children with allergies

How do you know whether or not you have healthy butyrate levels?

Find out the signs of low butyrate!
To have good butyrate levels, you need to know if you have the suitable microbiome species in your gut and if you need to eat enough fibers or to be fermented, and during this process, butyrate will be produced. Your butyrate levels wcorrectecrease if you don’t have the right species of bacteria or enough prebiotics in your diet.

How do you fix your butyrate levels?

You need to have butyrate-producing bacteria, but unfortunately, only one of these bacteria is available commercially – Lactobacillus rhamnosus.
So, unfortunately, there is no good recommendation to increase your butyrate levels, so you need to focus on fiber and prebiotics.

What to do, then?

You have to eat a variety of vegetables.
Increase your intake of resistant starch, but if you don’t tolerate fiber and starch, it can be a problem and leads to a vicious circle.

The only thing you can do is choose the correct type of butyrate supplement.

When choosing, you need to consider the…:

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• type of butyrate is very fragile; butyrate needs to bond with salt that stabilizes it. But research shows that tributyrin is more potent and doesn’t require digestion to break apart the chemical bonds.
  Plus, some research suggests tributyrin is safer for human consumption than butyrate salts.
• the butyrate delivery: Butyrate will be broken down in the stomach and won’t reach the gut. To avoid this, you need to choose liposomal or so-called enteric delivery. Unfortunately, the liposomal butyrate is very smelly
• purity (without additives)
• easy to use