Butyrate and Liver Health: Why Researchers Are Paying Attention
Why are researchers interested in butyrate and the liver?
Researchers are interested in butyrate and the liver because the liver gets butyrate before any other organ does. One human trial also saw a liver fat score improve after 12 weeks of a tablet that combined calcium butyrate with zinc and vitamin D.
Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid. Your gut bacteria make it when they break down fiber, and a capsule gives it to you directly. Our short-chain fatty acids guide covers the whole family.
Almost everything your gut absorbs leaves through one vessel, the portal vein, and that vein runs straight into the liver. So the liver meets butyrate before any other organ does, and it meets the most.
That has been measured in people. In 22 adults studied during abdominal surgery, the liver took up about as much butyrate as the gut released (Bloemen 2009). When 12 surgical patients were given a butyrate enema, butyrate in the portal vein rose about 6 times higher within 5 minutes, and the liver took most of it up (van der Beek 2015).
The second reason is a human trial. 50 adults with fatty liver took a calcium butyrate tablet for 12 weeks, and their fatty liver index improved while the placebo group's barely moved (Fogacci 2024). More on that below.
And the timing. Fatty liver disease (MASLD, formerly NAFLD) is now the most common long-term liver condition. People who have it tend to carry less butyrate in their stool and blood, and fewer of the bacteria that make it, across 7 studies of 1,185 people (González-González 2026). Researchers want to know whether putting butyrate back changes anything.
What is the theory behind butyrate and the liver?
The theory is that butyrate reaches the liver in high concentration, and liver cells carry enzymes and receptors that respond to it. Researchers think three things could follow: a fat-burning switch turns on, the gut lining tightens, and the liver's GLP-1 receptors keep working.
A fat-burning switch. Liver cells carry an enzyme called AMPK that works like a fuel gauge. When it switches on, cells burn fat instead of storing it. In early research, butyrate switched AMPK on in the liver (Zhou 2018).
A tighter gut lining. Endotoxin is a piece of bacterial cell wall that can leak out of the gut and travel to the liver, where it stirs up inflammation. Butyrate is the main fuel for the cells that line the gut. The idea is that well-fed lining cells hold their seals tighter, so less endotoxin reaches the liver. Our endotoxin explainer covers that pathway.
The liver's GLP-1 receptors. GLP-1 is a gut hormone that signals fullness and helps manage blood sugar. The liver carries receptors for it, and researchers think butyrate may help the liver keep those receptors in working order. Our butyrate and GLP-1 article has the fuller story.
Here is the theory in steps.
Steps 1 and 2 have been measured in people. Steps 3 and 4 come from early research so far, which is what the next sections sort out.
What have studies of butyrate and the liver found so far?
In adults with fatty liver, one human trial saw a liver fat score improve over 12 weeks on a tablet of calcium butyrate with zinc and vitamin D, and a larger trial saw no change on a liver scan. The first trial had 50 adults, and the larger one had 181.
The most direct human test comes from Italy (Fogacci 2024). 50 adults around age 61 with fatty liver and metabolic syndrome took a daily tablet or a placebo for 12 weeks. The tablet held 500 mg of calcium butyrate plus zinc and vitamin D. Their fatty liver index, a score built from blood fats, waist size and one liver enzyme, fell from 74.6 to 69.5. On placebo it went from 74.1 to 73.3. That one enzyme, GGT, also fell, and no one reported side effects.
A smaller human study looked at how the liver handles insulin (Bouter 2018). 19 men took 4 g of sodium butyrate a day for 4 weeks. In the 9 lean men, the liver responded better to insulin afterward, meaning it was better at switching off its own sugar output.
The fat-burning switch has the most interesting early research. Sodium butyrate given alongside a high-fat diet switched on AMPK in the liver, restored the liver's GLP-1 receptors, and less fat built up in the liver (Zhou 2018). The same study examined liver tissue from people with fatty liver and found fewer GLP-1 receptors than in healthy liver tissue. That part is an observation in people, not a trial.
Other early studies point the same direction. Here they are in one place.
| Study | What was given | What was seen |
|---|---|---|
| Zhou 2017 | Sodium butyrate alongside a high-fat diet | Tighter gut lining, less endotoxin reaching the liver, lower liver enzymes |
| Mattace Raso 2013 | Sodium butyrate alongside a high-fat diet | Less liver fat and inflammation; liver enzymes closer to normal |
| Jin 2015 | Sodium butyrate alongside a Western-style diet | Less liver fat and inflammation; body weight unchanged |
| Zhou 2018 | Sodium butyrate alongside a high-fat diet | Fat-burning switch on; GLP-1 receptors restored; less liver fat |
Those four were early studies, not human trials. They show the direction researchers are chasing, and the human work is what comes next.
How could the research on butyrate and the liver play out?
A longer human trial could show less liver fat on a scan with butyrate, or butyrate could turn out to do less in people than it did in early research.
If it works
Three things would have to go right. First, enough butyrate has to reach the liver from a capsule. In a 2026 human trial of 46 adults, blood butyrate rose in the group taking 1,875 mg of sodium butyrate a day, so capsules do get it into the blood (Testa 2026). And the liver is the first stop for that blood.
Second, the fat-burning switch and the tighter gut lining seen in early research would have to happen in people at capsule amounts. The GLP-1 receptor finding would have to hold up the same way. Third, a longer human trial, likely 6 months or more, would have to show less liver fat on a scan, the measure doctors trust.
If all three line up, the picture for an ordinary person is modest and useful. A daily capsule, or simply more fiber, becomes one more tool alongside weight, diet and the care your doctor already provides. Liver numbers get checked the normal way, and butyrate earns a place in that conversation. The Italian result is the first hint of that future, and it came in a 12-week window.
If it falls short
The amounts may not match. Early studies used far larger amounts of butyrate than a capsule holds. A capsule may not reach the level that moved those results.
The largest human trial saw no change. In Serbia, 181 adults with fatty liver took 1,000 mg a day of sodium or calcium butyrate for 12 weeks, alongside a diet and walking plan (Mitrović 2025). Liver fat on a scan did not change. The authors note that 12 weeks may be too short for a scan to move.
The Italian tablet had company. It held zinc and vitamin D as well as butyrate, so the credit is shared. And in the insulin study, the men with metabolic syndrome saw no change (Bouter 2018).
The liver clears butyrate fast. In 12 healthy adults, only about 2% of the butyrate delivered to the colon got past the liver into the rest of the body (Boets 2017). That makes the liver a natural target. It also means timing and dose may matter more than anyone has worked out yet.
So here is where things stand. The route from gut to liver is settled in people. The fat-burning switch, the gut-lining effect and the GLP-1 receptor finding have not been tested in people yet. The next step is a longer human trial with a liver scan.
How do you get more butyrate?
The first way to get more butyrate is to eat more fiber, which feeds the gut bacteria that make it. Beans, lentils, oats, leafy greens, green bananas and artichokes all carry that fiber. Add them gradually; a sudden jump in fiber is the usual reason people quit. Our guide to increasing butyrate naturally walks through it.
If you're looking at a supplement, there are four common forms: sodium butyrate, calcium butyrate, tributyrin and L-lysine butyrate. They differ in how much reaches the blood and in what else they carry, such as sodium. Our guide to the best form of butyrate compares them, and the butyrate research hub collects everything we've written.
For reference, the human liver trials used 500 to 1,000 mg a day of a butyrate salt for 12 weeks. Those are the amounts studied, not a recommendation.
If you have fatty liver, work with your doctor. Butyrate supplements are not a treatment for it, and weight, alcohol and the care your doctor chooses are the levers with the strongest track record.
We sell a butyrate supplement, which is why we read this research closely.
The form we chose
Ozzi BIOMEnd Butyrate
1,000 mg of BIOMEnd L-lysine butyrate per daily serving of 4 capsules. No sodium carrier and no added oils. 112 capsules, 28 servings per bottle. It is a dietary supplement, and it has not been tested for any of the conditions discussed on this page.
See the butyrate supplement →Frequently asked questions
Does butyrate help fatty liver?
Researchers are testing whether butyrate helps a fatty liver. In a human trial of 50 adults, a tablet of calcium butyrate with zinc and vitamin D improved a liver fat score over 12 weeks. A larger 12-week trial saw no change on a liver scan, so longer trials are the next step. Fatty liver is a medical condition, so work with your doctor.
Is butyrate good for your liver?
The liver sees more butyrate than any other organ, because blood from the gut goes there first. In early research, butyrate switched on a fat-burning enzyme in the liver and less fat built up. Whether that happens in people at capsule amounts is the open question.
Does butyrate lower liver enzymes?
In early research, liver enzymes fell when butyrate was given alongside a high-fat diet. In the human trials so far, one enzyme (GGT) fell in a 50-person trial, while the two main enzymes, ALT and AST, stayed level. A longer human trial would settle it.
What does butyrate do in the liver?
The theory is that butyrate may switch on AMPK, an enzyme that tells liver cells to burn fat rather than store it. It may also keep the gut lining tight so less endotoxin reaches the liver, and help the liver keep its GLP-1 receptors working. All three ideas come from early research.
Is sodium phenylbutyrate the same as butyrate?
Sodium phenylbutyrate is not the same as butyrate. It is a prescription drug for urea cycle disorders, rare conditions where the body can't clear ammonia. It is a different molecule from the butyrate in supplements, and its research doesn't apply to them.
Can I take butyrate if I have liver disease?
If you have liver disease, ask your doctor before you take butyrate. In 12 people with stable cirrhosis, the liver still cleared butyrate, but the researchers advised watching butyrate levels in anyone with reduced liver function (Bloemen 2010). No butyrate trial has been run in cirrhosis yet.
This article is for educational purposes and isn't medical advice. It describes published research on butyrate, not the effects of any Ozzi product. Ozzi products are dietary supplements and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Talk to your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, especially if you have a medical condition or take medication.
References
- Bloemen JG, et al. Short chain fatty acids exchange across the gut and liver in humans measured at surgery. Clin Nutr. 2009. PubMed 19523724
- van der Beek CM, et al. Hepatic Uptake of Rectally Administered Butyrate Prevents an Increase in Systemic Butyrate Concentrations in Humans. J Nutr. 2015. PubMed 26156796
- Fogacci F, et al. Effect of Supplementation of a Butyrate-Based Formula in Individuals with Liver Steatosis and Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Nutrients. 2024. PubMed 39125336
- González-González A, et al. The Role of Butyrate in People with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease and Related Metabolic Comorbidities: A Systematic Review. Curr Obes Rep. 2026. PubMed 41779349
- Zhou D, et al. Sodium butyrate reduces high-fat diet-induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis through upregulation of hepatic GLP-1R expression. Exp Mol Med. 2018. PubMed 30510243
- Bouter K, et al. Differential metabolic effects of oral butyrate treatment in lean versus metabolic syndrome subjects. Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2018. PubMed 29799027
- Zhou D, et al. Sodium butyrate attenuates high-fat diet-induced steatohepatitis in mice by improving gut microbiota and gastrointestinal barrier. World J Gastroenterol. 2017. PubMed 28104981
- Mattace Raso G, et al. Effects of sodium butyrate and its synthetic amide derivative on liver inflammation and glucose tolerance in an animal model of steatosis induced by high fat diet. PLoS One. 2013. PubMed 23861927
- Jin CJ, et al. Supplementation of sodium butyrate protects mice from the development of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Br J Nutr. 2015. PubMed 26450277
- Testa R, et al. Targeting weight loss and blood glucose control with oral sodium butyrate in overweight/obese adults with and without type 2 diabetes: A proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial. Clin Nutr. 2026. PubMed 41880673
- Boets E, et al. Systemic availability and metabolism of colonic-derived short-chain fatty acids in healthy subjects: a stable isotope study. J Physiol. 2017. PubMed 27510655
- Mitrović M, et al. Exploring the Potential of Oral Butyrate Supplementation in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: Subgroup Insights from an Interventional Study. Int J Mol Sci. 2025. PubMed 40565024
- Bloemen JG, et al. Short chain fatty acids exchange: Is the cirrhotic, dysfunctional liver still able to clear them? Clin Nutr. 2010. PubMed 19897285
