Butyric acid

Butyric acid, or butanoic acid, is a four-carbon carboxylic acid found in butter and produced by microbial fermentation. It is a short-chain fatty acid with a characteristic rancid odor.

Carboxylic acid: An organic compound containing a carboxyl group, written –COOH. Butyric acid’s carboxyl group defines its acidic reactions and chemical family.
Clostridium butyricum: A bacterium that produces butyric acid through anaerobic fermentation. It is a well-studied microbial producer of butyric acid.
Colonocyte: An epithelial cell lining the colon that absorbs water and nutrients. Colonocytes use butyrate as a major energy source.
Acetic acid: A two-carbon carboxylic acid and the principal acid in vinegar. Acetic acid has a shorter carbon chain and differs in odor and biological behavior.
Butyrate: The conjugate base and ionized form of butyric acid. At physiological pH, most butyric acid exists as butyrate.
Rumen fermentation: Microbial digestion of feed in the rumen of ruminant animals. Rumen microbes produce butyrate while fermenting plant material.
Histone deacetylase inhibitor: A compound that reduces the activity of enzymes removing acetyl groups from histones. Butyrate can inhibit histone deacetylases and alter gene expression in cells.
Propionic acid: A three-carbon carboxylic acid found in foods and produced by fermentation. It is the neighboring short-chain fatty acid with one fewer carbon atom.
Short-chain fatty acid: A fatty acid with a relatively small carbon chain, commonly defined as containing fewer than six carbons. Its four-carbon chain places butyric acid among the shortest fatty acids.
Gut microbiota: The community of microorganisms living in the digestive tract. Intestinal microbes generate butyrate from fermentable dietary substrates.

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Caproic acidCompared with: It is a shorter-chain fatty acid with a similarly pungent character.