Butyrate (Sodium/Calcium Butyrate) for Crohn's Disease

Q: Does Butyrate (Sodium/Calcium Butyrate) help with Crohn's Disease?

Based on 2 studies with 200 participants, there is limited but promising evidence that Butyrate (Sodium/Calcium Butyrate) may support Crohn's Disease management. Our evidence grade is C (Some Evidence).

Q: How much Butyrate (Sodium/Calcium Butyrate) should I take for Crohn's Disease?

Studies have used various dosages. A commonly studied range is 150-600 mg/day sodium or calcium butyrate. Always consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement regimen.

Q: Are there side effects of Butyrate (Sodium/Calcium Butyrate)?

Reported side effects may include Unpleasant taste/odor (butyric acid has a strong rancid butter smell), Mild GI discomfort (nausea, bloating), Belching with butyric acid odor, Enteric-coated formulations reduce taste issues. Most side effects are mild and dose-dependent. Consult your doctor if you experience any adverse reactions.

Q: How strong is the evidence for Butyrate (Sodium/Calcium Butyrate) and Crohn's Disease?

We rate the evidence as Grade C (Some Evidence). This rating is based on 2 peer-reviewed studies with 200 total participants. The overall direction of effect is positive.

Oral butyrate (4 g/day for 8 weeks) improved CDAI scores in open-label study. Controlled evidence still limited.

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The Bottom Line

Oral butyrate (4 g/day for 8 weeks) improved CDAI scores in open-label study. Controlled evidence still limited.

Key Study Findings

Randomized Controlled Trial n=140 Double-blind

Impact of oral butyrate on clinical and biochemical parameters in IBD: A randomized placebo-controlled study …

Dose: None vs: placebo plus conventional therapy Outcome: clinical disease activity and fecal calprotectin Effect: None p=0.013

Population: IBD patients (60 Crohn's disease, 80 ulcerative colitis)

In Vitro

Sodium butyrate alleviates DSS-induced inflammatory bowel disease by inhibiting ferroptosis and modulating ERK/STAT3 signaling and …

Dose: Low-dose and high-dose NaB vs: DSS-induced IBD mice; 5-ASA control Outcome: IBD symptom alleviation and ferroptosis inhibition Effect: None None

Population: DSS-induced IBD murine model

In Vitro

Effects of Lactobacillus paracei JY062 Postbiotic on Intestinal Barrier, Immunity, and Gut Microbiota.

Dose: 5 mg/mL vs: LPS-treated cell models Outcome: Intestinal barrier function and gut microbiota Effect: None None

Population: Caco-2 cells, RAW264.7 macrophages, fecal fermentation

Other

Association of Inflammatory Factors and Calcium Metabolism With Arthritis in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: …

Dose: None vs: None Outcome: Causal associations IBD → arthritis subtypes (MR) Effect: OR=1.21 (IBD→AS); OR=1.18 (IBD→PsA) <0.001 (AS); 0.007 (PsA)

Population: Mendelian randomization study of IBD and arthritis

Observational Study n=212

Microbiome multi-omics analysis reveals novel biomarkers and mechanisms linked with CD etiopathology.

Dose: None vs: Healthy controls Outcome: CD-specific microbiome signatures (AUC 0.94) Effect: AUC 0.94 in external validation None

Population: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis patients

In Vitro

Effects of senotherapeutics on gut microbiome dysbiosis and intestinal inflammation in Crohn's disease: A pilot …

Dose: None vs: Untreated Crohn's disease microbiota Outcome: Gut microbiome modulation and inflammation Effect: None None

Population: Crohn's disease fecal microbiota in SHIME model

Key Statistics

Studies

200

Participants

↑

Positive

Grade

Referenced Papers

Impact of oral butyrate on clinical and biochemical parameters in IBD: A randomized placebo-controlled study targeting gut microbiota. RCT

Digestive and liver … 2026 5 citations

Sodium butyrate alleviates DSS-induced inflammatory bowel disease by inhibiting ferroptosis and modulating ERK/STAT3 signaling and intestinal flora. Other

Annals of medicine 2025 12 citations

Effects of Lactobacillus paracei JY062 Postbiotic on Intestinal Barrier, Immunity, and Gut Microbiota. Other

Nutrients 2025 7 citations

Microbiome multi-omics analysis reveals novel biomarkers and mechanisms linked with CD etiopathology. Other

Biomarker research 2025 6 citations

Effects of senotherapeutics on gut microbiome dysbiosis and intestinal inflammation in Crohn's disease: A pilot study. Other

Translational research : … 2025 4 citations

Is the microbiome the answer to inflammatory bowel disease: systematic review. Systematic Review

Langenbeck's archives of … 2025 3 citations

Association of Inflammatory Factors and Calcium Metabolism With Arthritis in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Evidence From Mediated Mendelian Randomization. Other

Mediators of inflammation 2025 2 citations

Gut Microbial Metabolite Crosstalk in Crohn's Disease: Network Pharmacology Unveils Dual-Axis Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Targets. Other

BioFactors (Oxford, England) 2025

Lactobacillus reuteri E9 Regulates Sleep Disorders Through Its Metabolite GABA. Other

Frontiers in bioscience … 2025

An Engineered Butyrate-Derived Polymer Nanoplatform as a Mucosa-Healing Enhancer Potentiates the Therapeutic Effect of Magnolol in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Other

ACS nano 2024 89 citations

Enhancing recovery from gut microbiome dysbiosis and alleviating DSS-induced colitis in mice with a consortium of rare short-chain fatty acid-producing … Other

Gut microbes 2024 32 citations

Gut microbiota and metabolites as predictors of biologics response in inflammatory bowel disease: A comprehensive systematic review. Systematic Review

Microbiological research 2024 31 citations

Butyrate attenuates intestinal inflammation in Crohn's disease by suppressing pyroptosis of intestinal epithelial cells via the cGSA-STING-NLRP3 axis. Other

International immunopharmacology 2024 17 citations

Gut metabolome and microbiota signatures predict response to treatment with exclusive enteral nutrition in a prospective study in children with … Other

The American journal … 2024 11 citations

Surgery for Crohn's Disease Is Associated With a Dysbiotic Microbiome and Metabolome: Results From Two Prospective Cohorts. Other

Cellular and molecular … 2024 10 citations

Dietary Clostridium butyricum and 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 modulate bone metabolism of broilers through the gut-brain axis. Other

Poultry science 2024 9 citations

Treatment of Active Crohn's Disease With Exclusive Enteral Nutrition Diminishes the Immunostimulatory Potential of Fecal Microbial Products. Other

Inflammatory bowel diseases 2024 5 citations

Nutritional Management in Stricturing Crohn's Disease: A Pilot Study. RCT

Nutrients 2024 3 citations

Cannabidiol can affect morphology, morphometry, enzymatic and microbial activity of rabbit digestive system. Other

Journal of animal … 2024

Gut Microbial Metabolite Butyrate and Its Therapeutic Role in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Literature Review. Review

Nutrients 2023 162 citations

Alteration of the Gut Microbiome in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Review

Digestion 2023 71 citations

Butyrate reduces adherent-invasive E. coli-evoked disruption of epithelial mitochondrial morphology and barrier function: involvement of free fatty acid receptor 3. Other

Gut microbes 2023 29 citations

Interplay of gut microbiota and host epithelial mitochondrial dysfunction is necessary for the development of spontaneous intestinal inflammation in mice. Other

Microbiome 2023 28 citations

Fecal short chain fatty acids and urinary 3-indoxyl sulfate do not discriminate between patients with Crohn´s disease and ulcerative colitis … Other

Lipids in health … 2023 7 citations

The double-edged sword of probiotic supplementation on gut microbiota structure in Helicobacter pylori management. Review

Gut microbes 2022 107 citations

Gut microbiota in mucosa and feces of newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve adult inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome patients. Other

Gut microbes 2022 60 citations

Sodium Butyrate Effectiveness in Children and Adolescents with Newly Diagnosed Inflammatory Bowel Diseases-Randomized Placebo-Controlled Multicenter Trial. RCT

Nutrients 2022 54 citations

Oral Microbiome of Crohn's Disease Patients With and Without Oral Manifestations. Other

Journal of Crohn's … 2022 23 citations

Eicosatetraynoic Acid and Butyrate Regulate Human Intestinal Organoid Mitochondrial and Extracellular Matrix Pathways Implicated in Crohn's Disease Strictures. Other

Inflammatory bowel diseases 2022 21 citations

Fecal microbiota in congenital chloride diarrhea and inflammatory bowel disease. Other

PloS one 2022 9 citations

Anaerostipes hominis sp. nov., a novel butyrate-producing bacteria isolated from faeces of a patient with Crohn's disease. Other

International journal of … 2021 17 citations

Microbiota changes induced by microencapsulated sodium butyrate in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. RCT

Neurogastroenterology and motility 2020 176 citations

Early Postoperative Endoscopic Recurrence in Crohn's Disease Is Characterised by Distinct Microbiota Recolonisation. Other

Journal of Crohn's … 2020 50 citations

Luminal microbiota related to Crohn's disease recurrence after surgery. RCT

Gut microbes 2020 32 citations

Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs)-Mediated Gut Epithelial and Immune Regulation and Its Relevance for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Review

Frontiers in immunology 2019 3034 citations

Treatment of Active Crohn's Disease With an Ordinary Food-based Diet That Replicates Exclusive Enteral Nutrition. RCT

Gastroenterology 2019 276 citations

Differences in the intestinal microbiome of healthy children and patients with newly diagnosed Crohn's disease. Other

Scientific reports 2019 124 citations

Markers of dysbiosis in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Other

Terapevticheskii arkhiv 2019 50 citations

Beneficial effects of nutritional supplements on intestinal epithelial barrier functions in experimental colitis models in vivo. Review

World journal of … 2019 45 citations

Nutritional regulators of intestinal inflammation. Review

Current opinion in … 2019 5 citations

Protective Mechanisms of Butyrate on Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Review

Current pharmaceutical design 2018 108 citations

Determinants of Reduced Genetic Capacity for Butyrate Synthesis by the Gut Microbiome in Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Other

Journal of Crohn's … 2018 91 citations

Interactions between species introduce spurious associations in microbiome studies. Other

PLoS computational biology 2018 29 citations

Modulation of ruminal and intestinal fermentation by medicinal plants and zinc from different sources. Other

Journal of animal … 2018 15 citations

Gut Microbiome Function Predicts Response to Anti-integrin Biologic Therapy in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Other

Cell host & … 2017 399 citations

Butyrate-producing bacteria supplemented in vitro to Crohn's disease patient microbiota increased butyrate production and enhanced intestinal epithelial barrier integrity. Other

Scientific reports 2017 391 citations

Diet as a Trigger or Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Other

Gastroenterology 2017 335 citations

Lifestyle alters GUT-bacteria function: Linking immune response and host. Review

Best practice & … 2017 14 citations

Autophagy counters LPS-mediated suppression of lysozyme. Other

Innate immunity 2017 13 citations

Reduced Abundance of Butyrate-Producing Bacteria Species in the Fecal Microbial Community in Crohn's Disease. Other

Digestion 2016 522 citations

Gut microbiome diversity in acute infective and chronic inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases in North India. Review

Journal of gastroenterology 2016 49 citations

Recent advances in characterizing the gastrointestinal microbiome in Crohn's disease: a systematic review. Systematic Review

Inflammatory bowel diseases 2015 222 citations

The microbial metabolite butyrate regulates intestinal macrophage function via histone deacetylase inhibition. Other

Proceedings of the … 2014 1853 citations

A decrease of the butyrate-producing species Roseburia hominis and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii defines dysbiosis in patients with ulcerative colitis. Other

Gut 2014 1657 citations

Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum in inflammatory bowel disease. Other

Gut 2013 311 citations

Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Crohn's disease - is there any connection? Other

Polish journal of … 2013

Butyrate attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in intestinal cells and Crohn's mucosa through modulation of antioxidant defense machinery. Other

PloS one 2012 108 citations

Dysbiosis of the faecal microbiota in patients with Crohn's disease and their unaffected relatives. Other

Gut 2011 1055 citations

Oral butyrate for mildly to moderately active Crohn's disease. Other

Alimentary pharmacology & … 2005 227 citations

Review article: nutrition and adult inflammatory bowel disease. Review

Alimentary pharmacology & … 2003 179 citations

Nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease. Review

Current opinion in … 2001 45 citations

Nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease: impact on disease and therapy. Other

Current opinion in … 2001 38 citations

Butyrate inhibits inflammatory responses through NFkappaB inhibition: implications for Crohn's disease. Other

Gut 2000 370 citations

Nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease. Review

Current opinion in … 2000 21 citations

Mucosal metabolism in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Other

Diseases of the … 1998 26 citations

Butyrate increases colonocyte protein synthesis in ulcerative colitis. Other

The Journal of … 1994 29 citations

Pharmacotherapy of inflammatory bowel disease. Review

Digestive diseases (Basel, … 1993 29 citations

Dosage & Usage

mg = milligrams · mcg = micrograms (1,000× smaller) · IU = International Units

Commonly Used Dosages

general:: 150-600 mg/day sodium or calcium butyrate
ibdsupport:: 300-600 mg three times daily (900-1,800 mg/day)
butyrateenema:: 100 mM butyrate enema for distal UC (clinical setting only)

Upper limit: No established upper limit for oral supplements; most studies use 600-4,000 mg/day

Dosages Studied in Research

Dosage	Duration	Effect	N
None	--	Positive	140
Low-dose and high-dose NaB	--	Positive	--
5 mg/mL	--	Positive	--
None	--	Positive	--
None	--	Positive	212
None	--	Positive	--
None	--	Negative	--
None	--	Mixed	--

Best taken: With meals; enteric-coated formulations recommended to reach the colon

Safety & Side Effects

Reported Side Effects

⚠ Unpleasant taste/odor (butyric acid has a strong rancid butter smell)
⚠ Mild GI discomfort (nausea, bloating)
⚠ Belching with butyric acid odor
⚠ Enteric-coated formulations reduce taste issues

Known Interactions

● 5-ASA medications (mesalamine) — additive anti-inflammatory effect (potentially beneficial in IBD)
● No significant adverse drug interactions known

Tolerable upper intake: No established upper limit for oral supplements; most studies use 600-4,000 mg/day

Always consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Butyrate (Sodium/Calcium Butyrate) help with Crohn's Disease?

Based on 2 studies with 200 participants, there is limited but promising evidence that Butyrate (Sodium/Calcium Butyrate) may support Crohn's Disease management. Our evidence grade is C (Some Evidence).

How much Butyrate (Sodium/Calcium Butyrate) should I take for Crohn's Disease?

Studies have used various dosages. A commonly studied range is 150-600 mg/day sodium or calcium butyrate. Always consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement regimen.

Are there side effects of Butyrate (Sodium/Calcium Butyrate)?

Reported side effects may include Unpleasant taste/odor (butyric acid has a strong rancid butter smell), Mild GI discomfort (nausea, bloating), Belching with butyric acid odor, Enteric-coated formulations reduce taste issues. Most side effects are mild and dose-dependent. Consult your doctor if you experience any adverse reactions.

How strong is the evidence for Butyrate (Sodium/Calcium Butyrate) and Crohn's Disease?

We rate the evidence as Grade C (Some Evidence). This rating is based on 2 peer-reviewed studies with 200 total participants. The overall direction of effect is positive.

Related Evidence

Other ingredients for Crohn's Disease

Omega-3 Fatty Acids (EPA/DHA) C L-Glutamine C Curcumin C

Butyrate (Sodium/Calcium Butyrate) for other conditions

Ulcerative Colitis (UC) C

Quick Verdict

Oral butyrate (4 g/day for 8 weeks) improved CDAI scores in open-label study. Controlled evidence still limited.

Evidence Strength52%

Moderate confidence

Study Breakdown

RCT (6)Meta (0)Other (0)

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FDA Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products and information on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The evidence grades presented are based on our analysis of published peer-reviewed research and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement regimen.