From Dietary Fiber to Host Physiology: Short-Chain Fatty Acids as Key Bacterial Metabolites
Ara Koh, Filipe De Vadder, Petia Kovatcheva-Datchary, Fredrik Bäckhed, Ara Koh, Filipe De Vadder, Petia Kovatcheva-Datchary, Fredrik Bäckhed
Abstract
A compelling set of links between the composition of the gut microbiota, the host diet, and host physiology has emerged. Do these links reflect cause-and-effect relationships, and what might be their mechanistic basis? A growing body of work implicates microbially produced metabolites as crucial executors of diet-based microbial influence on the host. Here, we will review data supporting the diverse functional roles carried out by a major class of bacterial metabolites, the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs can directly activate G-coupled-receptors, inhibit histone deacetylases, and serve as energy substrates. They thus affect various physiological processes and may contribute to health and disease.
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Source: PubMed