A crucial question underpinning the establishment of robust scientific connections between gut bacterial communities and health is: precisely how do the gut microbiota exert their effects in the intestinal tract and throughout the rest of the body? Of all the ways in which microbe-mediated health effects may occur, scientists have found the activities of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) to be of particular interest. Dietary substances—namely, fibre—plus bacteria in the gut work together to produce SCFA molecules, including butyrate, acetate, and proprionate. And study by study, scientists are uncovering the extent of SCFAs’ important functions in both gut health and overall health.
The GMFH publishing team is proud to bring you this document summarizing the latest scientific work on SCFAs and health. With a selection of the best GMFH website articles about SCFAs, fronted by an editorial from Hervé M. Blottière (Director of Research at MICALIS Institute at INRA, France, and Scientific Director at MetagenoPolis), this document serves as your crash course on one of the main known methods by which gut microbiota and diet co-contribute to health.
