The Role of Butyric Acid and Microorganisms in Chronic Inflammatory Diseases and Microbiome-Based Therapeutics.

Abstract

Butyric acid, produced by gut microbiota fermentation, has gained significant attention over the past decade. It shows strong therapeutic potential in both experimental and clinical treatments for inflammatory diseases across multiple systems. However, factors such as the host's environment, genetics, and microbial lineage transmission influence gut microecology and butyric acid metabolism, resulting in variable and sometimes opposing, therapeutic effects. Consequently, precise personalized medicine is essential for diseases related to microbes and butyric acid. This review first introduces the fundamentals of butyric acid, focusing on its immune mechanisms and its effects on early-life microbiota. It then summarizes how microbes and butyric acid contribute to the treatment of systemic inflammatory diseases (eg, autoimmune diseases (AIDs), asthma, metabolic syndrome) and discusses the concept of Microbial Precision Therapy (MPT). Understanding butyric acid provides deeper insight into managing inflammatory diseases and supports precise medication and personalized therapy. This approach may offer more effective and safer strategies for multi-system inflammatory disorders.