Document Type : Original Article
Author
National Nutrition Institute( NNI)
10.21608/bnni.2025.468385
Abstract
Open access
*Corresponding author
Hanaa H El-Sayed: 01008825869
Email: dr.hanaa.hamad@gothi.gov.eg
Received: 15 November 2025
Accepted: 22 November 2025
Published: 2 December 2025
Citation:
El-Sayed HH (2025): Volatile (Short-Chain) Fatty Acids in Gut Physiology: Literature Review
BNNI, (2) 23-39 doi:10.21608/bnni.2025.468385
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), often called volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in older studies, are low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids, mainly acetate, propionate, and butyrate, produced by microbial fermentation of dietary fiber and other nondigestible substrates in the gastrointestinal tract. SCFAs play a central role in connecting diet, microbiota composition, and host physiology: locally, they fuel colonocytes, maintain barrier integrity, regulate fluid and electrolyte transport, and influence gut motility and mucosal and systemic immune responses; systemically, they affect hepatic gluconeogenesis, lipogenesis, and endocrine signaling through GPCRs and epigenetic mechanisms (such as histone deacetylase inhibition). Changes in SCFA production, absorption, or signaling have been linked to metabolic disorders, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, gastrointestinal pathology, and emerging effects outside the gut. This review compiles recent evidence on the definition and composition of SCFAs, microbial sources and production pathways, epithelial absorption and transporters, the metabolic fates of individual SCFAs, their physiological functions within the digestive system, and broader impacts on human health and disease. Key knowledge gaps and promising strategies for therapeutic manipulation of SCFA levels (including dietary fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, and targeted SCFA delivery) are discussed.
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