Butyrate Complex – the key to gut health and fuel for your microbiome

Progast^® Butyrate Complex is scientifically formulated to create a healthy environment for your good bacteria to thrive and at the same time prevent excess levels of bad bacteria from entering the body.

In supporting optimal health, we need to repair and restore gut function as all health starts in the gut. The best results are achieved when we address the cause of digestive conditions instead of only offering symptomatic relief.

INGREDIENTS

Progast^® Butyrate Complex is a natural product of pharmaceutical grade quality containing 300 mg of butyric acid, 200 mg L-glutamine, 20 mg magnesium hydroxide, 40 mg calcium hydroxide, 25 mg zinc picolinate and 0.5 mg copper AAC per capsule.

Butyric acid – main ingredient

The epidemic of dysbiosis (a disrupted gut microbiome) and intestinal permeability (leaky gut) may be largely due to a shortage of fibre in the diet, and together with that, a deficiency of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Dysbiosis and intestinal permeability often result in life-threatening inflammation.

Butyric acid, or butyrate, is an SCFA produced by probiotic fermentation of fibre in the lower intestinal tract. Supplementing with butyric acid is an emerging approach to not only tighten the junction proteins that seal the gut barrier, but also strengthen the gut microbiome. Butyric acid is the primary source of energy for our colon cells, and it repairs, strengthens and protects the gut lining. A depletion of butyrate in the gut is typically caused by an absence or depletion of butyrate-producing-bacteria, leading to unbalanced gut microbiome. Without butyrates, colon cells digest themselves and die!

Butyrate production may be reduced in patients with, or who have had, an unbalanced and low-fibre diet, intestinal inflammation, antibiotic use, or bacterial microflora disturbances.

Due to cross-talk between the gut and the brain, inflammation of the gut and brain are related. Butyric acid enhances our neuroplasticity and delays brain ageing conditions. Loss of neuroplasticity causes the trademark mental decline associated with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Thus, the microbiome produces essential molecules that we require in order to regulate our cognition, moods and behaviour. Ground-breaking treatments are using butyrate to treat neurodegenerative diseases, depression and cognitive impairment.

Butyrate has been extensively studied pharmacologically and serves as an attractive anti-inflammatory not only in the gut, but also on microglia (a type of glial cell located throughout the brain and spinal cord).

Butyric acid does so much more than repair intestinal barrier function:

• It enters our bloodstream and crosses the blood-brain barrier, where it decreases inflammation and inhibits histamine production.
• Butyrate activates the vagus nerve and hypothalamus.
• It can improve neurological disorders, from depression to cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative diseases.
• It is a rate-limiting factor in muscle loss as we age.
• Studies have shown that SCFAs regulate fat metabolism by increasing fat burning and decreasing fat storage.
• Our immune function and energy metabolism depend on the regulation of butyrate.
• It mimics the effects of probiotics, killing pathogens and regulating hormone levels.
• It has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity and enzyme activity in the liver and muscle tissue, resulting in better blood sugar control.
• It may decrease the risk of heart disease by reducing inflammation and blocking cholesterol production.
• It assists with regulation of colonic motility.
• It is critical to colonic mucosal health.
• It reduces the frequency of symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
• It eases traveller’s diarrhoea.
• It may be beneficial in inflamed bowel disorders, as well as colorectal cancer.
• It induces normal cell death (apoptosis) and may be responsible for controlling the development of colon cancer.

L-glutamine is an anti-inflammatory amino acid that boosts immune cell activity in the gut. It feeds and affects the gut microbiota composition, reduces intestinal spasms and promotes the growth and rebuilding of the mucosal lining of the oesophagus and intestines. L-glutamine is the most common amino acid in the body; it regulates tight junction proteins all along the mucosal lining of the gastrointestinal tract. The brain uses L-glutamine to produce and balance GABA. L-glutamine boosts mental performance, enhances memory and can also be used to ease cravings. Chronic gastrointestinal disorders can lead to L-glutamine deficiency.

Other ingredients

Calcium hydroxide has strong alkaline properties. Magnesium hydroxide reduces stomach acid and helps to relieve constipation by stimulating intestinal motility. Zinc is required for cells to function and maintain the junctions of the intestinal barrier.

With L-glutamine, magnesium, calcium, zinc and copper added to butyric acid, it’s easy to see how the synergistic action of Progast^®  Butyric Acid can have a fast-acting positive impact on gut conditions, as well as conditions associated with the gut. The future of gut health is ‘synbiotics’: combining probiotics with an SCFAs such as butyric acid.

DOSAGE

Take 1 capsule of Progast^® Butyrate Complex daily. The dosage can be increased to one capsule three times a day or as directed by your healthcare professional. Not recommended for children.

DRCaps®

Progast^® Butyrate Complex is odour free, encapsulated in novel DRCaps^® for maximum freshness and targeted release throughout your gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The novel DRCaps^® protect the ingredients from degradation in the stomach by stomach acids and can also help mask taste and odor and reduce bad aftertaste without the addition of costly coatings.

DRcaps^® capsules are innovative HPMC (hydroxypropylmethylcellulose) capsules. Owing to their plant-based origin, HPMC capsules are preferred over gelatine capsules by consumers pursuing a plant-based diet. HPMC capsules are also preferred for consumers wanting non-GMO and free-from delivery formats as they are free from preservatives, allergens, starch and gluten.

Certified Vegan, Non-GMO, Vegetarian Society, Halal and Kosher certifications.

*Source: DRCaps^® Capsules Achieve Delayed Release Properties for Nutritional Ingredients in Human Clinical Study, 2014

SIDE EFFECTS AND WARNINGS

Safety during pregnancy and lactation has not been established. Take under medical supervision if you are immune suppressed as butyric acid can cause systemic bacterial disease in such patients. Butyric acid is on the GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) list of the FDA.

Free from sugar, lactose, gluten, GMO, soya & pesticides. No artificial additives, flavours, colourants & preservatives. Produced in an ISO 9001 facility. For more information, visit Progast.global.

The information published here, does not intend to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The product reviewed has not been evaluated by any regulatory body and is not intended to diagnose treat, cure or prevent any disease. The information given here is not meant to be a substitute for seeing a health professional. It is our opinion only, based on several years of research, in consultation with world experts. We’re sure you’ll find it useful, but please use it wisely and always exercise common sense.

RESOURCES

1. Rios-Covian D, Ruas-Madiebo PM, Margolles A, et al. Intestinal short chain fatty acids and their link with diet and human health. Front Microbial 2016;17:185 (epub 17 February 2016), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26925050/.
2. Cushing K, Alvarado DM, Ciorba MA. Butyrate and mucosal inflammation: new scientific evidence supports clinical observation. Clin Transl Gastroenterol (epub 27 August 2015), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4816278/
3. Schroeder BO. Fight them or feed them: how the intestinal mucus layer manages the gut microbiota. Gastroenterology Report 2019;7(1):3-12. https://academic.oup.com/gastro/article/7/1/3/5305718?searchresult=1
4. Liu H, Wang J, Ting H, et al. Butyrate: a double-edged sword for health? Adv Nutrition 2018;9(1):21-29. https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/9/1/21/4849000
5. Bourassa MW, Alim I, Bultman SJ, Ratan RR. Butyrate, neuroepigenetics and the gut microbiome: Can a high fiber diet improve brain health? Neurosci Lett 2016;625:56-63. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2016.02.009
6. Layden BT, Angueira AR, Brodsky M, Durai V, Lowe WL Jr. Short chain fatty acids and their receptors: new metabolic targets. Transl Res 2013;161(3):131-140.
7. Kim HJ, Bae SC. Histone deacetylase inhibitors: molecular mechanisms of action and clinical trials as anti-cancer drugs. Am J Transl Res 2011;3(2):166-179.