Short-Chain Fatty-Acid-Producing Bacteria: Key Components of the Human Gut Microbiota
William G. Fusco, Manuel Bernabeu, Marco Cintoni, Serena Porcari, Emanuele Rinninella, Francesco Kaitsas, Elena Lener, Maria Cristina Mele, Antonio Gasbarrini, María Carmen Collado, Giovanni Cammarota, Gianluca Ianiro
Abstract
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) play a key role in health and disease, as they regulate gut homeostasis and their deficiency is involved in the pathogenesis of several disorders, including inflammatory bowel diseases, colorectal cancer, and cardiometabolic disorders. SCFAs are metabolites of specific bacterial taxa of the human gut microbiota, and their production is influenced by specific foods or food supplements, mainly prebiotics, by the direct fostering of these taxa. This Review provides an overview of SCFAs' roles and functions, and of SCFA-producing bacteria, from their microbiological characteristics and taxonomy to the biochemical process that lead to the release of SCFAs. Moreover, we will describe the potential therapeutic approaches to boost the levels of SCFAs in the human gut and treat different related diseases.