Implications of butyrate and its derivatives for gut health and animal production

• Published in: Animal Nutrition Vol. 4; no. 2; pp. 151 - 159
• Main Authors: Bedford, Andrea, Gong, Joshua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Elsevier B.V 01.06.2018; KeAi Publishing; KeAi Communications Co., Ltd
• Subjects: acylglycerols; animal nutrition; Animal Nutrition is indebted to Dr. Chengbo Yang of the University of Manitoba and Dr. Joshua Gong of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for their skills and dedication in organising and editing the paper; Animal production; Antibiotic alternatives; antibiotics; biomedical research; Butyrate; Butyrins; carcass composition; cell differentiation; diarrhea; energy; enteropathogens; fermentation; gene expression; growth performance; Gut health; humans; immunomodulation; inflammation; intestinal microorganisms; large intestine; medicine; Nutrition; odors; oxidative stress; sodium butyrate; young animals; Butyrins; Animal production; Nutrition; Butyrate; Antibiotic alternatives; Gut health
• ISSN: 2405-6545; 2405-6383; 2405-6383
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aninu.2017.08.010

Butyrate is produced by microbial fermentation in the large intestine of humans and animals. It serves as not only a primary nutrient that provides energy to colonocytes, but also a cellular mediator regulating multiple functions of gut cells and beyond, including gene expression, cell differentiation, gut tissue development, immune modulation, oxidative stress reduction, and diarrhea control. Although there are a large number of studies in human medicine using butyrate to treat intestinal disease, the importance of butyrate in maintaining gut health has also attracted significant research attention to its application for animal production, particularly as an alternative to in-feed antibiotics. Due to the difficulties of using butyrate in practice (i.e., offensive odor and absorption in the upper gut), different forms of butyrate, such as sodium butyrate and butyrate glycerides, have been developed and examined for their effects on gut health and growth performance across different species. Butyrate and its derivatives generally demonstrate positive effects on animal production, including enhancement of gut development, control of enteric pathogens, reduction of inflammation, improvement of growth performance (including carcass composition), and modulation of gut microbiota. These benefits are more evident in young animals, and variations in the results have been reported. The present article has critically reviewed recent findings in animal research on butyrate and its derivatives in regard to their effects and mechanisms behind and discussed the implications of these findings for improving animal gut health and production. In addition, significant findings of medical research in humans that are relevant to animal production have been cited.