Beyond butyrate: microbial fiber metabolism supporting colonic epithelial homeostasis.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of microbial metabolism and colonocyte energetics without new empirical human data.
PubMed 37596118 · doi:10.1016/j.tim.2023.07.014
What was done
This narrative review synthesized evidence on the production and biochemical roles of various gut microbial metabolites in the energy and carbon metabolism of colonic epithelial cells, evaluating the common view that butyrate is the primary fuel.
What was found
The abstract provides no quantitative data. It reports that while butyrate supports colonocyte metabolism, it cannot meet all carbon requirements for biosynthetic processes (such as DNA, RNA, protein, and lipid synthesis), which also depend on circulating or microbial glucose.
Why it matters
It highlights that colonic epithelial maintenance and regeneration rely on a broader set of energy and carbon sources than butyrate alone, with implications for inflammatory bowel disease and type 2 diabetes.
Limits
The paper is a narrative review with no original experimental or clinical human data reported in the abstract. No quantitative effect sizes, sample sizes, or systematic search protocols were provided.
Cited by
- supports Butyrate is the primary metabolic fuel source for colonocytes.