What Is Butyrate? What It Does, Where It Comes From and How to Get More
What is butyrate?
Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid, a tiny building block of fat just 4 carbon atoms long. Your gut bacteria make it in your colon when they ferment fiber you can't digest yourself.
Most people have never heard the word. Your gut has been making butyrate for years anyway.
The name comes from the old Greek and Latin words for butter, where chemists first found it. The National Library of Medicine describes it as a 4-carbon acid with an unpleasant odor, found in butter.
Butyrate, acetate and propionate are the 3 main short-chain fatty acids in your colon. Butyrate makes up about a fifth of them (Rivière 2016). Our short-chain fatty acids guide covers the whole family.
Where does butyrate come from?
Butyrate comes mainly from your own gut bacteria, which make it when they ferment fiber in your colon. A small amount also comes ready-made in butter, ghee and cheese.
Fiber is the part of plants your body can't break down, so it reaches your colon intact. Bacteria there ferment it and release butyrate (Boets 2017).
What are butyrate-producing bacteria?
Butyrate-producing bacteria are the gut bacteria that make butyrate. In the human colon, the 2 most abundant are Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and the Roseburia and Eubacterium rectale group (Louis 2009).
You don't need to remember the names. What matters is that they eat fiber.
They get help too. Other gut bacteria, such as bifidobacteria, turn fiber into acetate and lactate. Butyrate producers can then convert those into butyrate (Rivière 2016).
Is there butyrate in butter?
Butter does contain a little. Butyric acid makes up about 4% of the fatty acids in milk fat (Månsson 2008). It's absorbed early in digestion, before it reaches your colon.
So fiber is what feeds the butyrate supply in your colon. Our butyrate foods guide lists the foods that help most.
What does butyrate do in your body?
Butyrate fuels the cells that line your colon, which is its best-established job. In lab research, butyrate also acts as a signal to nearby gut cells, including the ones that release GLP-1.
Here is the path it takes.
Butyrate is the main fuel for your colon lining
The cells lining your colon burn butyrate for energy. Researchers measured this in colon cells taken from people during surgery. Butyrate accounted for about 70% of the oxygen those cells used to make energy (Roediger 1980).
Most butyrate stays in your gut
Your colon and liver use almost all of it. In 12 healthy adults, only about 2% of the butyrate delivered to the colon reached the general bloodstream (Boets 2017).
What else are researchers studying?
Researchers are studying butyrate in 5 more areas, and each has its own post. Our butyrate research hub gives the overview.
Appetite and GLP-1. GLP-1 is the hormone your gut releases after a meal to tell your brain you're full. In lab research, short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate triggered its release from gut cells (Tolhurst 2012). In a 45-day trial of 60 adults with type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 rose in the butyrate groups versus placebo (Roshanravan 2017).
Our post on butyrate and GLP-1 goes through every human trial so far, including two that saw no change.
Inflammation. Butyrate is made right beside the immune cells in your gut wall. In 36 adults with ulcerative colitis, 12 weeks of sodium butyrate lowered a blood marker of inflammation versus placebo (Firoozi 2024). Our post on butyrate and inflammation covers the other trials.
Liver. Blood leaving your gut goes straight to your liver, so the liver is butyrate's first stop. Researchers are testing whether that helps a fatty liver. In one human trial, a butyrate tablet that also held zinc and vitamin D improved a liver fat score in 12 weeks (Fogacci 2024). Our post on butyrate and liver health follows the trials.
Stress and mood. In 66 healthy men, a week of short-chain fatty acids, butyrate included, changed a stress test result. The rise in cortisol, the main stress hormone, was smaller (Dalile 2020).
Mood ratings didn't change in that trial, and a later trial of butyrate on its own didn't repeat the stress result (Dalile 2024). Bigger trials are the next step. Our post on butyrate, serotonin and mood has the details.
Colon cancer. In large population studies, people who eat more fiber get colon cancer less often (Aune 2011). Researchers are asking whether butyrate is part of that link. The human trials are early, and our post on butyrate and colon cancer lays them out.
Butyrate supplements are not a treatment for any of these conditions. If you have one, work with your doctor.
Here is the short version.
| Part of you | What butyrate does | How we know |
|---|---|---|
| Colon lining | Main fuel for the cells | Human colon cells |
| Gut hormone cells | Triggers GLP-1 release | Lab research; human trials are mixed |
| Immune cells | Being studied for inflammation | Small human trials |
| Liver | First stop after the gut | Measured in people |
| Brain | Being studied for stress signals | Early human trials |
Is butyrate the same as butyric acid, and is it a probiotic?
Butyrate and butyric acid are two forms of the same molecule, and butyrate is not a probiotic. Labels use both names for the molecule. A probiotic is a live microbe, and butyrate is a compound microbes make.
Butyrate vs butyric acid
Butyric acid is the acid form, the one first found in butter. In your colon and your blood, most of it gives up a hydrogen and becomes butyrate.
On labels, butyrate also names products where it is bound to a carrier, such as sodium butyrate.
Probiotic, prebiotic or postbiotic?
These 3 words get mixed up. Here, in plain words, are the definitions an expert panel agreed on (Salminen 2021).
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Probiotic | A live microbe taken for a health benefit | Live bacteria in a capsule |
| Prebiotic | Food your gut microbes use, to your benefit | Some fermentable fibers |
| Postbiotic | Inactivated microbes or their parts, taken for a health benefit | Heat-killed bacteria |
| Butyrate | A compound that gut microbes make | Sodium butyrate in a capsule |
Butyrate is often called a postbiotic, because bacteria make it. The expert definition is stricter. It says purified compounds should go by their chemical names, such as butyric acid.
Both uses are common. We go through the argument in postbiotics, explained.
How do you know if you are low on butyrate?
Butyrate deficiency is not an official diagnosis, and no standard test measures low butyrate. That means there is no agreed list of butyrate deficiency symptoms.
Researchers do measure butyrate in stool and blood, but their methods differ. A 2026 review says standardized testing is needed before results can guide a diagnosis (González-González 2026).
That review covered 7 studies and 1,185 people. Those with fatty liver disease tended to have less butyrate in their stool or blood. They also carried fewer butyrate-producing bacteria.
These studies are snapshots. They can't show whether low butyrate came first or the condition did, so leave the diagnosis to your doctor.
The useful question is simpler: how much fiber do you eat? Fiber is the raw material, so a low-fiber diet leaves your bacteria little to work with.
How do you get more butyrate?
Eating more fermentable fiber is the main way to get more butyrate, because gut bacteria make it from fiber. A butyrate supplement adds to that by supplying butyrate directly.
Start with food. Oats, beans, lentils, onions, garlic and slightly green bananas all feed the bacteria that make butyrate. So do potatoes and rice that were cooked and then cooled, which hold resistant starch.
20 healthy adults spent 3 weeks on a diet built around resistant starch, prebiotic fiber and apple cider vinegar. Their blood butyrate ended about 40% higher than after a matched diet without them (Gill 2022).
Add fiber slowly. A sudden jump brings gas and bloating, and that's when most people quit. Our guide on how to increase butyrate naturally has the full plan.
What is a butyrate supplement, and should you take one?
A butyrate supplement is butyrate bound to a carrier so it can go into a capsule or a drink, and it is worth considering once the food side is in place. It adds butyrate directly.
I think of fiber and a capsule as partners, because they work in different places. Fiber makes butyrate down in your colon. A capsule is absorbed higher up and reaches your blood within minutes.
Products differ in the carrier. Sodium butyrate binds butyrate to sodium, and most human trials have used it. Tributyrin binds it to a fat, and L-lysine butyrate binds it to an amino acid.
Our pick is L-lysine butyrate, for 3 reasons: a milder smell, no sodium and no added oils. We looked for the best form of butyrate, found L-lysine butyrate, and put it into capsules.
In a human absorption study of 10 men, it reached the blood in about 20 minutes. That was about even with sodium butyrate, at 22 minutes, and its peak was about 5 times tributyrin's (La Monica 2025). The study measured absorption, not health results.
Our guides to the best form of butyrate and the best butyrate supplement compare the options.
One caution: in 23 adults with high blood pressure, 4 weeks of sodium butyrate raised daytime blood pressure (Verhaar 2024). If you have high blood pressure or another medical condition, ask your doctor first. Our guide to butyrate side effects has more.
We sell a butyrate supplement, which is why we read this research closely. Ours is BIOMEnd Butyrate: 1,000 mg of L-lysine butyrate per serving of 4 capsules, once a day with water.
The same butyrate, at 500 mg a serving, is in our Natural GLP-1 Supplement capsules. It's also in our Crave Crusher drink, taken after dinner.
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.
See the butyrate supplement →Frequently asked questions
What is butyrate good for?
Butyrate's best-established job is fueling the cells that line your colon. Researchers are also studying its links to GLP-1, inflammation, the liver and mood. Most of that research is early, and butyrate is not a treatment for any condition.
What does butyrate do for the gut?
Butyrate is the main fuel for the cells lining your colon. In a study of human colon cells, it accounted for about 70% of the oxygen those cells used.
Does butter have butyrate?
Butter does contain butyrate: butyric acid makes up about 4% of the fatty acids in milk fat. Ghee and cheese carry some too. It's absorbed early in digestion, so fiber is still what feeds the butyrate in your colon.
Which probiotics produce butyrate?
Butyrate is made by specific gut bacteria. The most abundant in the human colon are Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Eubacterium rectale and Roseburia. Bifidobacteria, a common probiotic group, make acetate and lactate, which those bacteria can turn into butyrate.
What are butyrate deficiency symptoms?
Butyrate deficiency is not an official diagnosis, so it has no agreed list of symptoms. No standard test measures it either. Studies link lower butyrate to some health conditions, and they can't show which came first.
What is sodium butyrate?
Sodium butyrate is a salt: butyrate bound to sodium so it can go in a capsule. It's the form most human butyrate trials have used.
What is the recommended daily intake for butyrate?
Butyrate has no recommended daily intake and no official daily value. Follow the label of the product you choose, and ask your doctor if you have a medical condition.
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
- National Library of Medicine. Butyric Acid. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), descriptor D020148. MeSH record
- Rivière A, et al. Bifidobacteria and butyrate-producing colon bacteria: importance and strategies for their stimulation in the human gut. Front Microbiol. 2016. PubMed 27446020
- 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
- Louis P, Flint HJ. Diversity, metabolism and microbial ecology of butyrate-producing bacteria from the human large intestine. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2009. PubMed 19222573
- Månsson HL. Fatty acids in bovine milk fat. Food Nutr Res. 2008. PubMed 19109654
- Roediger WE. Role of anaerobic bacteria in the metabolic welfare of the colonic mucosa in man. Gut. 1980. PubMed 7429343
- Tolhurst G, et al. Short-chain fatty acids stimulate glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion via the G-protein-coupled receptor FFAR2. Diabetes. 2012. PubMed 22190648
- Roshanravan N, et al. Effect of butyrate and inulin supplementation on glycemic status, lipid profile and glucagon-like peptide 1 level in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Horm Metab Res. 2017. PubMed 28962046
- Firoozi D, et al. Effects of short-chain fatty acid-butyrate supplementation on expression of circadian-clock genes, sleep quality, and inflammation in patients with active ulcerative colitis: a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Lipids Health Dis. 2024. PubMed 39003477
- Dalile B, et al. Colon-delivered short-chain fatty acids attenuate the cortisol response to psychosocial stress in healthy men: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2020. PubMed 32521538
- Dalile B, et al. Colonic butyrate administration modulates fear memory but not the acute stress response in men: a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2024. PubMed 38199487
- 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
- Aune D, et al. Dietary fibre, whole grains, and risk of colorectal cancer: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. BMJ. 2011. PubMed 22074852
- Salminen S, et al. The International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) consensus statement on the definition and scope of postbiotics. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021. PubMed 33948025
- 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
- Gill PA, et al. A randomized dietary intervention to increase colonic and peripheral blood SCFAs modulates the blood B- and T-cell compartments in healthy humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022. PubMed 36084000
- La Monica MB, et al. A pharmacokinetic comparison of three butyrate products. Journal of Exercise and Nutrition. 2025;8(1):4. Journal page
- Verhaar BJH, et al. Effects of oral butyrate on blood pressure in patients with hypertension: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Hypertension. 2024. PubMed 39034917
