Effect of butyrate and fermentation products on epithelial integrity in a mucus-secreting human colon cell line

Butyrate produced by microbial fermentation of dietary fibres beneficially affect the colonic epithelium. Here we enhanced butyrate production through in vitro incubations of different sources of arabinoxylan (AX) with butyrogenic bacteria (Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, Eubacterium rectale) to explore their potential synbiotic effects on the intestinal epithelial barrier function. B. fibrisolvens incubated with AX produced the highest butyrate levels (15 mM). Sodium-butyrate (1-10 mM) and fermentation products (5% v/v) from B. fibrisolvens increased the barrier function in a human colonic epithelial cell line. This was associated with regulation of different genes involved in epithelial integrity, mucus secretion, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and butyrate transport. In conclusion, butyrate in concentrations that can be achieved by dietary intervention in vivo enhanced the epithelial barrier function in vitro. B. fibrisolvens might be a potential new probiotic for increasing colonic butyrate production in humans, specifically in synbiotic combination with AX, a common DF component of food cereals.