From Dietary Fiber to Host Physiology: Short Chain Fatty Acids as Key Bacterial Metabolites
A compelling set of links between the composition of the gut microbiota, the host diet, and host physiology has emerged. Do these links reflect cause and effect relationships, and what might be their mechanistic basis? A growing body of work implicates microbially produced metabolites as crucial executors of diet based microbial influence on the host. Here, we will review data supporting the diverse functional roles carried out by a major class of bacterial metabolites, the short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) SCFAs can directly activate G coupled receptors, inhibit histone deacetylases, and serve as energy substrates. They thus affect various physiological processes and may contribute to health and disease.
Cell