top of page

Butyrate and Circadian Function

Writer's picture: Wendy Wang, PhD NutritionWendy Wang, PhD Nutrition


 

 

The ability of chrono-nutrition to control the circadian rhythm via dietary patterns and bioactive components offers great promise in this context. Butyrate, as a bioactive component, which is produced from fiber by gut microbiota, can alter circadian rhythm, inflammation, and immune system modulation (1).

 

The microbiome plays a crucial role in regulating various body processes like digestion, metabolism, immune function, gut health, behavior, and brain function. Interestingly, the gut microbiota also affects the body's circadian rhythm, showing day-night changes in composition and function, which can influence the circadian clock in different tissues. These microbial rhythms are controlled by food intake and diet composition, impacting key metabolic processes that align with the body's circadian rhythms (1).

 

Disruptions in circadian rhythms, such as sleep disturbances, can lead to gut microbiota imbalances, which affect metabolism and increase the risk of obesity and metabolic disorders. Microbial metabolites, like short-chain fatty acids, produced by fermenting dietary fiber, also impact circadian rhythms. For example, butyrate affects circadian clock genes, showing how diet and microbiota-produced compounds influence the body’s internal clock (1-2).

 

Circadian clocks and metabolism are interconnected, where central and hepatic circadian clocks coordinate metabolic activities in response to light-dark and sleep-wake cycles. One study showed that the gut microbiome plays a key role in maintaining host circadian rhythms. Despite the persistence of light-dark signals, germ-free mice fed low or high-fat diets exhibit markedly impaired central and hepatic circadian clock gene expression and do not gain weight compared to conventionally raised counterparts that gain weight under high-fat diets. Examination of gut microbiota in conventionally raised mice showed differential diurnal variation in microbial structure and function dependent upon dietary composition. Additionally, specific microbial metabolites induced under low- or high-fat feeding, particularly short-chain fatty acids (for example, butyrate), directly modulate circadian clock gene expression within hepatocytes (2).

 

These findings showed that high-fat diets disrupt daily patterns in gut microbes. Gut-derived substances can affect the body's circadian rhythms and metabolic processes, disrupting the circadian balance between the host and microbes and contributing to obesity caused by a Westernized diet (2).

 

In a randomized placebo-controlled trial, 36 active ulcerative colitis patients were randomly divided to receive sodium-butyrate (600 mg/kg) or placebo for 12 weeks. In this study, the expression of circadian-clock genes (CRY1, CRY2, PER1, PER2, BMAl1 and CLOCK), inflammation (fecal calprotectin and serum level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)), sleep and quality of life were assessed by Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire-9 (IBDQ-9) respectively before and after the intervention (3).

 

The results showed that sodium-butyrate supplementation in comparison with placebo significantly decreased the level of calprotectin (-133.82 ± 155.62 vs. 51.58 ± 95.57, p < 0.001) and hs-CRP (-0.36 (-1.57, -0.05) vs. 0.48 (-0.09-4.77), p < 0.001) and upregulated the fold change expression of CRY1 (2.22 ± 1.59 vs. 0.63 ± 0.49, p < 0.001), CRY2 (2.15 ± 1.26 vs. 0.93 ± 0.80, p = 0.001), PER1 (1.86 ± 1.77 vs. 0.65 ± 0.48, p = 0.005), BMAL1 (1.85 ± 0.97 vs. 0.86 ± 0.63, p= 0.003). Sodium-butyrate resulted in an improvement in sleep quality (PSQI score: -2.94 ± 3.50 vs. 1.16 ± 3.61, p < 0.001) and quality of life (IBDQ-9: 17.00 ± 11.36 vs. -3.50 ± 6.87, p < 0.001)(3).

 

Calprotectin is a protein found in stool and used to help diagnose and manage gastrointestinal inflammation. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein made by the liver. The level of CRP increases when there's inflammation in the body. A high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) test is more sensitive than a standard C-reactive protein test. The hs-CRP test can help show the risk of getting coronary artery disease and heart attack (3).

 

These results showed that butyrate supplementation may be an effective adjunct treatment for active ulcerative colitis patients by reducing biomarkers of inflammation, upregulation of circadian-clock genes, and improving sleep quality and quality of life (3).

 

Butyrate, a compound produced by gut bacteria from fiber, impacts circadian rhythms, inflammation, and the immune system. Research shows that the gut microbiome plays a key role in regulating bodily processes like digestion, metabolism, and even brain function, while also affecting the body's circadian rhythms. Disruptions in these rhythms, such as sleep disturbances, can lead to gut imbalances, affecting metabolism and increasing the risk of obesity.

 

Butyrate influences circadian clock genes, and studies suggest that fiber-rich diets can help restore circadian balance. In one trial involving patients with ulcerative colitis, sodium-butyrate supplementation improved inflammation markers, upregulated circadian genes, and enhanced sleep quality and overall quality of life. These findings indicate that butyrate may serve as an effective treatment for reducing inflammation and promoting healthy circadian function.

 

 

References:

 

1.     Dufoo-Hurtado E, Wall-Medrano A, Campos-Vega R. Naturally-derived chronobiotics in chrononutrition. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2020;95:173–82. doi: 10.1016/j.tifs.2019.11.020.

 

2.     Leone V, Gibbons SM, Martinez K, Hutchison AL, Huang EY, Cham CM, Pierre JF, Heneghan AF, Nadimpalli A, Hubert N, Zale E, Wang Y, Huang Y, Theriault B, Dinner AR, Musch MW, Kudsk KA, Prendergast BJ, Gilbert JA, Chang EB. Effects of diurnal variation of gut microbes and high-fat feeding on host circadian clock function and metabolism. Cell Host Microbe. 2015 May 13;17(5):681-9. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2015.03.006. Epub 2015 Apr 16. PMID: 25891358; PMCID: PMC4433408.

 

3.     Firoozi D, Masoumi SJ, Mohammad-Kazem Hosseini Asl S, Labbe A, Razeghian-Jahromi I, Fararouei M, Lankarani KB, Dara M. 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 Jul 13;23(1):216. doi: 10.1186/s12944-024-02203-z. PMID: 39003477; PMCID: PMC11245831.



Photo is generated by AI via WIX

11 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


  • LinkedIn Social Icon
  • Facebook Social Icon

©2018-2025 by Cal Nutrition Group. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page