Re: Butyric Acid

Butyric acid is found principally in the large bowel, primarily because it is produced by certain bacteria which reside in large numbers in the large bowel.

"Butyrate, and other short-chain fatty acids produced by gut bacteria**, has a remarkable effect on intestinal permeability. In tissue culture and live rats, short-chain fatty acids cause a large and rapid decrease in intestinal permeability. Butyrate, or dietary fiber, prevents the loss of intestinal premeability in rat models of ulcerative colitis. This shows that short-chain fatty acids, including butyrate, play an important role in the maintenance of gut barrier integrity."

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com.au/2009/12/butyric-acid-ancient-control...


While butyrate is normally present in large amounts only in the large intestine, it is my understanding that leaky gut involves primarily the small intestine. This suggests oral butyrate may be effective in treating leaky gut.

The main natural source of oral butyrate is butter. Interestingly, these days we only consume around 15% of the butter we used to 100 years ago. Could this be contributing factor to the current high incidence of leaky gut syndrome?