» Articles » PMID: 36909336

Butyrate and Obesity: Current Research Status and Future Prospect

Overview
Specialty Endocrinology
Date 2023 Mar 13
PMID 36909336
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

Over the past few decades, increasing prevalence of obesity caused an enormous medical, social, and economic burden. As the sixth most important risk factor contributing to the overall burden of disease worldwide, obesity not only directly harms the human body, but also leads to many chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and mental illness. Weight loss is still one of the most effective strategies against obesity and related disorders. Recently, the link between intestinal microflora and metabolic health has been constantly established. Butyrate, a four-carbon short-chain fatty acid, is a major metabolite of the gut microbiota that has many beneficial effects on metabolic health. The anti-obesity activity of butyrate has been demonstrated, but its mechanisms of action have not been fully described. This review summarizes current knowledge of butyrate, including its production, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and the effect and mechanisms involved in weight loss and obesity-related diseases. The aim was to contribute to and advance our understanding of butyrate and its role in obesity. Further exploration of butyrate and its pathway may help to identify new anti-obesity.

Citing Articles

Beneficial Effects of Butyrate on Kidney Disease.

Diep T, Liu H, Yan L Nutrients. 2025; 17(5).

PMID: 40077642 PMC: 11901450. DOI: 10.3390/nu17050772.


Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acids Are Associated with Obesity in Gestational Diabetes.

Molan K, Ambrozic Avgustin J, Likar M, Pongrac Barlovic D, Zgur Bertok D, Starcic Erjavec M Biomedicines. 2025; 13(2).

PMID: 40002799 PMC: 11853429. DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines13020387.


Dose-Dependent Effects of Short-Chain Fatty Acids on 3T3-L1 Adipocyte Adipokine Secretion and Metabolic Function.

Alzubi A, Glowacki H, Burns J, Van K, Martin J, Monk J Nutrients. 2025; 17(3).

PMID: 39940429 PMC: 11820615. DOI: 10.3390/nu17030571.


Gut microbiota and endometrial cancer: research progress on the pathogenesis and application.

Zheng W, Lin X, Chen H, Yang Z, Zhao H, Li S Ann Med. 2025; 57(1):2451766.

PMID: 39810645 PMC: 11737052. DOI: 10.1080/07853890.2025.2451766.


Global deletion of the immune cell transcription factor, T-bet, alters gut microbiota and insulin sensitivity in mice.

Stolarczyk E, Vong C, Garrido-Mesa N, Marks E, Abdel-Aziz D, Ju Q Front Genet. 2024; 15():1502832.

PMID: 39664730 PMC: 11631911. DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1502832.


References
1.
Hamer H, Jonkers D, Venema K, Vanhoutvin S, Troost F, Brummer R . Review article: the role of butyrate on colonic function. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2007; 27(2):104-19. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2007.03562.x. View

2.
Khan S, Jena G . The role of butyrate, a histone deacetylase inhibitor in diabetes mellitus: experimental evidence for therapeutic intervention. Epigenomics. 2015; 7(4):669-80. DOI: 10.2217/epi.15.20. View

3.
Polyzos S, Kountouras J, Mantzoros C . Obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: From pathophysiology to therapeutics. Metabolism. 2018; 92:82-97. DOI: 10.1016/j.metabol.2018.11.014. View

4.
Dostal A, Chassard C, Hilty F, Zimmermann M, Jaeggi T, Rossi S . Iron depletion and repletion with ferrous sulfate or electrolytic iron modifies the composition and metabolic activity of the gut microbiota in rats. J Nutr. 2011; 142(2):271-7. PMC: 3260059. DOI: 10.3945/jn.111.148643. View

5.
Ulven T . Short-chain free fatty acid receptors FFA2/GPR43 and FFA3/GPR41 as new potential therapeutic targets. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2012; 3:111. PMC: 3462324. DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2012.00111. View