Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as butyrate, produced by gut microorganisms, play a critical role in energy metabolism and physiology of ruminants as well as in human health. In this study, the temporal effect of elevated butyrate concentrations on the transcriptome of the rumen epithelium was quantified via serial biopsy sampling using RNA-seq technology. The mean number of genes transcr...

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), primarily acetate, propionate, and butyrate, are metabolites formed by gut microbiota from complex dietary carbohydrates. Butyrate and acetate were reported to protect against diet-induced obesity without causing hypophagia, while propionate was shown to reduce food intake. However, the underlying mechanisms for these effects are unclear. It was suggested that S...

Butyric acid and sphingomyelin (SM) affect colonic tumorigenesis. We examined the potential link between butyrate stimulation and SM metabolism in colonic and hepatic cancer cell lines. After incubating HT29 and HepG2 cells with butyrate and other short-chain fatty acids, we found that butyrate increased acid but not neutral or alkaline sphingomyelinase (SMase) activity by 10- to 20-fold. The e...

This work proves for the first time the bioelectrochemical production of butyrate from CO2 as a sole carbon source. The highest concentration of butyrate achieved was 20.2 mMC, with a maximum butyrate production rate of 1.82 mMC d(-1). The electrochemical characterisation demonstrated that the CO2 reduction to butyrate was hydrogen driven. Production of ethanol and butanol was also observed ope...

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) from fish oil, and butyrate, a fiber fermentation product, work coordinately to protect against colon tumorigenesis in part by inducing apoptosis. We have recently demonstrated that dietary DHA is incorporated into mitochondrial membrane phospholipids, thereby enhancing oxidative stress induced by butyrate metabolism. In order to elucidate the subcellular or...

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of dietary addition of coated butyrate on gut health related faecal traits in dogs. A food with or without coated butyrate was tested in a crossover study with 17 dogs. Faecal samples were collected and frozen until analysis for proximate components. Fresh faecal samples were collected for bacterial culturing and short chain fatty acids (...

The glucogenic behavior of butyrate in ruminants has been reported frequently, but the metabolic nature of this anomalous relationship has remained obscure. To test the possibility that the metabolism of butyrate affects gluconeogenesis, lactating cows were given intravenous injections of tracer amounts of pyruvate-2-14C and, in parallel experiments, of pyruvate-2-l% plus substrate amounts of s...

The availability of multiple sources of food and drink has a profound influence on choice behavior in rodents. It is not known how other taxa might respond to the same kind of variation in availability. We tested European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) with various combinations of unadulterated and repellent-treated (0.025% citronellyl acetate) resources. In Experiment 1, birds drank more plain t...

Metabolites from intestinal microbes modulate the mucosal immune system by regulating the polarization and expansion of T cells. Whether the microbial metabolites influence macrophage polarization, however, is poorly understood. Here, we show that the large bowel microbial fermentation product, butyrate, facilitates M2 macrophage polarization, in vitro and in vivo. The supernatant from butyrate...

The glucogenic behavior of butyrate in ruminants has been reported frequently, but the metabolic nature of this anomalous relationship has remained obscure. To test the possibility that the metabolism of butyrate affects gluconeogenesis, lactating cows were given intravenous injections of tracer amounts of pyruvate-2-14C and, in parallel experiments, of pyruvate-2-l% plus substrate amounts of s...