Tributyrin (butyrin or tri-butyrate) is a triglyceride of butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid (sometimes called butyric acid or butanoic acid). Butyrin makes up 3 to 4% of the butter. Short-chain fatty acids are produced in the intestine during the digestion of fibre and carbohydrates.

Butyrate is the main source of energy for the gut epithelial cells.

In the colon, 90 -95% of the short-chain fatty acids are acetic acid (C2), propionic acid (C3) and butyrate / butyric acid (C4).

SCFA are also called "postbiotic" as they are metabolites derived from the microbiota.

Indeed, these fatty acids are produced in the gut during the digestion of fibres and carbohydrates.

The colon epithelium consumes almost all butyric acid, the primary energy source for colonocytes.

On the other hand, both acetic and propionic acid passe into the blood (portal vein). They are used as precursors in the liver or peripheral tissues for gluconeogenesis and hepatic lipogenesis.

The bacteria that colonise the digestive tract, especially the colon, feed on the prebiotics we eat to reproduce. Prebiotics are food substances generally composed of carbohydrates (oligosaccharides and polysaccharides) but essential to the intestinal microbiota.

Indeed, the microbiota transforms these fibres into short-chain fatty acids (scfas). Among them, butyrate plays a crucial role in intestinal physiology, as it is one of the preferred sources of carbon in colon epithelial cells. Without butyrate, these cells would be in energy “deficiency”.

Several bacteria transforming fibres into butyrate have been identified: Anaerostipes spp. (A, L), Coprococcus catus (A), Eubacterium rectale (A), Eubacterium hallii (A, L), Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (A), Roseburia spp. (A) (Canani 2011; Koh 2016)

SCFAs are produced during colonic fermentation by bacteria from incompletely digested cellulosic residues and starches. The amount of SCFAs produced by this fermentation process is therefore dependent on the type of food individuals eat and the bacterial pool maintained in the colon.

Low prebiotic consumption or antibiotic use reduces the production of SCFAs, especially butyrate.

SCFAs affect the gastrointestinal tract and ensure proper intestinal function. Their primary function is to serve as an energy source for the cells in the colon. Butyrate is the primary energy source for colonocytes or the cells that form the colon wall. It allows them to multiply and function normally. Without these compounds, these cells undergo autophagy and eventually enter apoptosis and die.

Butyrate has an anti-inflammatory action, acts on intestinal motility (constipation and diarrhoea), stimulates the absorption of water and sodium, helps maintain the protective mucus layer of the intestine, and helps combat leaky gut. (Canani 2011)

There are on the market some butyric acid salts. This form is, however, quickly absorbed in the small intestine.

Our partner Elie Health Solutions (Spain) thus developed Butycaps - a microencapsulated butyrin - to improve the butyrate activity in the colon.