Vibrant's Gut Zoomer measures all major short chain fatty acids (SCFA). This includes acetate, butyrate, propionate, valerate as well as isobutyrate, isovalerate, 2-methyl butyrate, 2,2-dimethylbutyrate, 2-ethylbutyrate, 4-methyl valerate, caproate, and pivalate.
Butyrate, acetate, propionate, and valerate are the most abundant SCFAs. Therefore, Vibrant also reports the percentages of these SCFA to provide additional insight. Note: While the total SCFAs are reported as an amount (micromol/gram), the results for butyrate, acetate, propionate, and valerate are reported as a percentage (%).
It is possible to have low levels of total SCFAs but adequate percentages of butyrate, acetate, propionate, and valerate. On the flip side, it is also possible to have adequate amount of total SCFA but low levels (percentage) of butyrate. However, when total SCFAs are low, all SCFAs are low despite the ratios being in balance.
Consider the following scenarios using this analogy.
- Let's pretend SCFAs are M&Ms candy (You want 45-210 Total M&Ms)
- Let's pretend red M&Ms are acetate (You want 60-73% red)
- Let's pretend blue M&Ms are butyrate (You want 5-12% blue)
- Let's pretend purple M&Ms are propionate (You want 15-30% green)
- Let's pretend yellow M&Ms are valerate (You want 1-3% yellow)
Scenario 1: It is possible to have adequate amount of Total SCFA but low levels (percentage) of butyrate.
- Analogy: You have 100 M&Ms, including 70 red (70%), 28 green (28%), and 1 yellow (1%), but only 1 blue (1%). Ideally, blue should make up 5-12% of the Total SCFA, so while the total amount of OK, the percentage of blue is too low.
Scenario 2: It is possible to have low levels of total SCFAs but adequate percentages of butyrate, acetate, propionate, and valerate.
- Analogy: You only have 30 M&Ms, but there are 18 are red (60%), 3 are blue (10%), 8 are green (27%), 1 is yellow (3%). While the percentages are on point, ideally, you want 45-210 total M&Ms, so only having 30 M&Ms is a sign of SCFA deficiency.
Scenario 3: It is possible to have normal levels of total SCFAs but unbalanced percentages of butyrate, acetate, propionate, and valerate.
- Analogy: You have 100 M&Ms, but only 50 are red (50% is too low; should be 60-73%), only 3 are blue (3% is too low; should be 5-12%), 40 are green (40% is too high; should be 15-30%), and 7 are yellow (7% is too high; should be 1-3%).
