13th March 2018 by Ilenia Gheno

Kristina S. Fluitman, Madelief Wijdeveld, Max Nieuwdorp, Richard G IJzerman Gut.

2018 Jan 30. pii: gutjnl-2017-315543. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2017-315543. [Epub ahead of print]

Various issues influence our appetite and metabolism, and gut bacteria have a role to play in there. A previous research project focused on one of the substances made by gut bacteria, namely butyrate, which is thought to improve body weight, appetite, and glucose- and fat-metabolism.

The project demonstrated in mice that most effects of butyrate on body weight and metabolism were actually not caused by butyrate directly.  Rather, butyrate caused a decrease in appetite and food intake, which in turn caused the improvements in body weight and metabolism. Because of its effects on appetite, the researchers concluded that butyrate might potentially be used as weight-losing drug.

PROMISS would like more research to be carried out. The fact that that project was performed in mice, not in human beings, cannot make us jump to the conclusions that their results would be similar in human beings.  The PROMISS experience is that effects in mice (promising as they might be) are often not as remarkable in humans. Furthermore, even if butyrate would work as effective in humans as it does in mice, we think that it might only work in specific individuals.

Read the whole scientific paper here: “Potential of butyrate to influence food intake in mice and men”.