Short Chain Fatty Acids

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are a sub-group of saturated aliphatic fatty acids contain 2-5 carbon (C) atoms, while acetate (C2), propionate (C3), and butyrate (C4) are the most abundant. They are the end products of fermentation of the dietary fibers by beneficial large intestinal bacteria. Humans don’t have the enzymes to degrade the bulk of dietary fibers. As a result, these nondigestible dietary fibers pass through the upper gastrointestinal tract without being digested and then enter the cecum and the large intestine and are fermented by the anaerobic cecal and colonic microbiota. The fermentation of dietary fibers produces a large number of metabolites including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).