Daily profiles of plasma short-chain fatty acids after the intake of three different cereal fibers: a randomized controlled study.

Costabile G, Vitale M, Testa R, Rivieccio A, Palmnäs M, Lopez-Sanchez P, Landberg R, Riccardi G, Giacco R

Eur J Nutr 64 (5) 217 [2025-06-11; online 2025-06-11]

To evaluate plasma short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) profiles after the acute intake of cereal fibers in overweight individuals. In a randomized, controlled cross-over study, twenty overweight/obese individuals, 30-75 years, consumed at one-week interval three products, each containing 11 g fiber (arabinoxylan (AX), wheat bran or cellulose) during a standard breakfast meal. Plasma samples were collected at fasting, for 8-h after breakfast and on the following morning. SCFAs were measured by LC-MS/MS. Plasma acetate, propionate and butyrate increased after the three test fibers (p = 0.0001, time effect). The acetate peak was observed between 300 and 360 min after all test fibers (p < 0.05-0.003). Propionate increased significantly by 60 min after AX (p = 0.017) and wheat bran (p = 0.036) while butyrate increased only after AX (p = 0.038). A second peak was observed for propionate at 390 min after AX (p = 0.065) and wheat bran (p = 0.037) and for butyrate only after wheat bran (p = 0.024), remaining above baseline until the morning after. No significant difference was observed between the average daily plasma concentrations of acetate, propionate and butyrate. A very high inter- and intra-subjects' variability of SCFA response was observed. Cluster analysis identified high and low SCFA producers after fiber ingestion among the study participants. After fiber ingestion plasma kinetics of acetate differ from those of butyrate and propionate. Among the tested fibers, AX and wheat bran show a better intestinal fermentation ability than cellulose. Heterogeneity in the fermentation ability exists among study participants, with half of them having a minimal SCFA increase after fiber ingestion. NCT05443828; https://classic. gov/ct2/show/NCT05443828.

Chalmers Mass Spectrometry Infrastructure [Collaborative]

PubMed 40498116

DOI 10.1007/s00394-025-03741-7

Crossref 10.1007/s00394-025-03741-7

pii: 10.1007/s00394-025-03741-7
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05443828