Abstract
Acetate, propionate, andn-butyrate are the major short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) anions in the gastrointestinal tract of animal and man, accounting for 90% of total SCFA in stool water. Their absorption from the human ileum was investigated in 8 volunteer subjects by the triple-lumen perfusion technique. Each test solution contained one of the SCFAs at a concentration of 0–100 mM; sodium, potassium, and bicarbonate concentrations were kept constant, as were pH and osmolality. Absorption of each SCFA was found to be rate-limited with an apparentK ′ m between 22 and 27 mM and a calculatedV max between 0.54 and 0.82 mmol/hr cm. Water, sodium, and chloride transport were not affected by substantial rates of SCFA absorption. Rather, significant stimulation of calculated bicarbonate secretion and a rise in intraluminal pH were consistently observed. The results are compatible with either of two mechanisms for SCFA absorption: an anion exchange between bicarbonate (or hydroxyl) and SCFA ions, or protonation of the SCFA anion at the mucosal surface followed by simple diffusion of nonionized SCFA into the absorbing cell.
References
Bjork JT, Soergel KH, Wood CM: The composition of free stool water. Gastroenterology 70:864, 1976 (abstract)
Chernov AJ, Doe WF, Gompertz D: Intrajejunal volatile fatty acids in the stagnant loop syndrome. Gut 13:103–106, 1972
Schmitt MG, Soergel KH, Wood CM: Absorption of short chain fatty acids from the human jejunum. Gastroenterology 70:211–215, 1976
Schmitt MG, Wood CM, Soergel KH: A method for rapid placing of small intestinal perfusion tubes. Gut 15:227–228, 1974
Whalen GE, Harris JA, Geenen JE, Soergel KH: Sodium and water absorption from the human small intestine. The accuracy of the perfusion method. Gastroenterology 51:975–984, 1966
Collin DP, McCormick PG, Schmitt MG: Quantitative gas chromatographic determination of short chain fatty acids in aqueous samples. Clin Chem 20:1235–1237, 1974
Soergel KH, Whalen GE, Harris JA: The passive movement of water and sodium across the human intestinal mucosa J Appl Physiol 24:40–48, 1968
Ackman RG, Burgher RD: Quantitative gas liquid chromatographic estimation of volatile fatty acids in aqueous media. Anal Chem 35:647–652, 1963
Neame KD, Richards TG: Elementary Kinetics of Membrane Carrier Transport, Oxford, Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1972, pp 47–52
Soergel KH: Flow measurements of test meals and fasting contents in the human small intestine. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Motility or the Gastrointestinal Tract, 1969. L Demling. (ed). Stuttgart, Georg Thieme Verlag, 1971, pp 81–96
Weast RC (ed): Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 49th ed. Cleveland, Ohio, The Chemical Rubber Co., 1968, pp D90-D91
Sallee VL, Dietschy JM: Determinants of intestinal mucosal uptake of short and medium chain fatty acids and alcohols. J Lipid Res 14:475–484, 1973
Henning SJ, Hird FJR: Ketogenesis from butyrate and acetate by the cecum and the colon of rabbits. Biochem J 130:785–790, 1972
Argenzio RA, Southworth M, Stevens CE: Sites of organic acid production and absorption in the equine gastrointestinal tract. Am J Physiol 226:1043–1050, 1974
Barry RJC, Smythe DH: Transfer of short-chain fatty acids by the intestine. J Physiol (London) 152:48–66, 1960
Howard J, Jackson MJ, Smyth DH: Intracellular hydrolysis of short chain glycerides by rat small intestine in vitro and transfer of glycerol. J Physiol (London) 208:461–471, 1970
Smyth DH, Taylor CB: Intestinal transfer of short-chain fatty acids in vitro. J Physiol (London) 141:73–80, 1958
Jackson MJ: Regional variation of propionate transport in rat small intestine. Life Sci 7:517–523, 1968
Naupert C, Rommel K: Absorption of short and medium chain fatty acids in the jejunum of the rat. Z Klin Chem Klin Biochem 13:553–562, 1975
Bustos-Fernández L, Gonzáles E, DePaolo I, Celender D, DeFuruya K: Organic anions induce colonic secretion. Am J Dig Dis 21:329–332, 1976
Argenzio RA, Miller N, von Engelhardt W: Effect of volatile fatty acids on water and ion absorption from the goat colon. Am J Physiol 229:997–1002, 1975
Barry RJC, Jackson MJ, Smyth DH: Transfer of propionate by rat small intestine in vitro. J Physiol (London). 182:150–163. 1966
Hogben CAM, Tocco DJ, Brodie BB, Schanker LS: On the mechanism of intestinal absorption of drugs. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 125:275–282, 1959
Argenzio RA, Lowe JE, Stevens CE: Interrelationship of Na, HCO3 and volatile fatty acid transport across equine large intestinal mucosa. Gastroenterology 70:860, 1976 (abstract)
Ash RW, Dobson A: The effect of absorption on the acidity of rumen contents. J Physiol (London) 169:39–61, 1963
Hubel KA: The mechanism of bicarbonate secretion in rabbit ileum exposed to choleragen. J Clin Invest 53:964–970, 1974
Turnberg LA, Bieberdorf FA, Morawski SG, Fordtran JS: Interrelationships of chloride, bicarbonate, sodium, and hydrogen transport in the human ileum. J Clin Invest 49:559–567, 1970
Parsons DS: Intestinal Ion Transport. JWL Robinson (ed). Lancaster, Medical and Technical Publishing Co Ltd, 1976, pp 407–430
Read NW, Levin RJ, Holdsworth CD: Measurement of the functional unstirred layer thickness in the human jejunum in vivo. Gut 17:387, 1976, (abstract)
Robinson RA, Stokes RH: Electrolyte Solutions. London, Butterworths, 1959, 302
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work was supported, in part, by a grant (RR-58) from the General Clinical Research Center Program of the Division of Research Resources and by a research grant (AM-12985-05) from the National Institutes of Arthritis, Metabolic and Digestive Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
Dr. Schmitt was supported by a Special Post Doctoral Research Fellowship Award (5-F03-AM53883) from the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolic and Digestive Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schmitt, M.G., Soergel, K.H., Wood, C.M. et al. Absorption of short-chain fatty acids from the human ileum. Digest Dis Sci 22, 340–347 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01072192
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01072192