From gut microbiota dysfunction to obesity: could short-chain fatty acids stop this dangerous course?

Study of the interactions between the gut microbiota and brain-gut axis represents a very appealing approach to increasing our knowledge about the mechanisms leading to obesity and obesity-related diseases. The aim of this review is to focus on the effects of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hormones (Athens, Greece) Greece), 2019-09, Vol.18 (3), p.245-250
Main Authors: Barrea, Luigi, Muscogiuri, Giovanna, Annunziata, Giuseppe, Laudisio, Daniela, Pugliese, Gabriella, Salzano, Ciro, Colao, Annamaria, Savastano, Silvia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Diet
Dietary Supplements
Dysbiosis - complications
Dysbiosis - diet therapy
Dysbiosis - epidemiology
Endocrinology
Energy Metabolism - physiology
Fatty Acids, Volatile - administration & dosage
Gastrointestinal Microbiome - physiology
Gastrointestinal Tract - metabolism
Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology
Humans
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Metabolic Diseases
Obesity - etiology
Obesity - microbiology
Obesity - prevention & control
Prebiotics - administration & dosage
Review Article
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Summary:Study of the interactions between the gut microbiota and brain-gut axis represents a very appealing approach to increasing our knowledge about the mechanisms leading to obesity and obesity-related diseases. The aim of this review is to focus on the effects of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are the main products of gut microbial fermentation from non-digestible carbohydrates in the colon, on the gut-brain axis. Evidence is accumulating regarding the role of SCFAs in the fine-tuning of the gut-brain axis, a feedback system which is vital not only for the proper maintenance of gastrointestinal and metabolic functions, but also for the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure. SCFAs are thought to play a key role in increasing the host capacity to harvest excess energy from the diet. SCFAs, however, can exert their effects on the host metabolism via multiple complementary pathways. Metabolic, inflammatory, and neural pathways can be regulated by SCFAs, which can act by sensing nutritional status, thereby maintaining body energy homeostasis. SCFA production from prebiotic consumption is the rationale for targeting intestinal mechanisms to increase energy expenditure and thereby reduce obesity risk.
ISSN:1109-3099
2520-8721
DOI:10.1007/s42000-019-00100-0