Research

Hormonal

Butyrate and propionate acutely stimulate the secretion of gut hormones (GLP-1, GIP, PYY) in mice, with butyrate being the most potent stimulator of anorexigenic peptides.

Acute oral administration of butyrate (400 mg/kg) in fasted mice rapidly increases levels of GLP-1, GIP, PYY, and amylin, with butyrate being the most potent stimulator of anorexigenic peptides. Propionate also stimulates GIP and amylin but not GLP-1 or PYY. Acetate has no significant acute effect on these hormones. This suggests butyrate and propionate may have distinct roles in appetite regulation via gut hormones.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Oral administration of sodium butyrate in mice significantly increased plasma levels of GLP-1 and GIP ten minutes after dosing... Sodium propionate significantly increased GIP, insulin, and amylin... the rank order of butyrate > propionate > acetate in the stimulation of anorexigenic peptides GLP-1, PYY, and amylin is consistent with their effects on food intake inhibition
Hua Lin et al. · PLoS ONE · 2012

Why this rating

Acute challenge studies with precise timing (10 min) and hormone assays provide strong mechanistic evidence.

Source

Butyrate and Propionate Protect against Diet-Induced Obesity and Regulate Gut Hormones via Free Fatty Acid Receptor 3-Independent Mechanisms

Hua Lin et al. · PLoS ONE · 2012

DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0035240

mechanism_onlyCited 1,380×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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