Bach Knudsen · Nutrients 2018 · narrative review · n=?

Impact of Diet-Modulated Butyrate Production on Intestinal Barrier Function and Inflammation.

Cited 571 times in the scientific literature.

Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data

Narrative review of mechanisms and physiological pathways without systematic review methodology.

PubMed 30322146 · doi:10.3390/nu10101499 · record verified 2026-08-31

What was done

This narrative review synthesized published evidence on how dietary fiber intake modulates large-intestine butyrate production and influences gut barrier integrity, local intestinal inflammation, and systemic inflammatory markers.

What was found

The abstract reports no numerical data or effect sizes. Qualitatively, dietary fiber intake modulates large-intestinal butyrate production, which acts mechanistically through NF-κB signaling and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition. Butyrate's positive effects are reported to be more consistent on local gut inflammatory markers and barrier function than on peripheral inflammatory markers, potentially due to lower systemic concentrations.

Why it matters

It emphasizes that while dietary modulation readily alters colonic butyrate and local gut inflammation, translating these benefits to remote peripheral tissues may be constrained by low systemic bioavailability.

Limits

The abstract contains no quantitative metrics, sample size, or study selection criteria. As a narrative review, it lacks systematic screening and does not separate findings from cell, animal, or human studies.

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