95% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
MINI REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1539972
This article is part of the Research Topic New Progress on the Role of Gut Microbiota in the Incidence and Prevention of Liver Diseases View all 10 articles
Role of short-chain fatty acids in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and potential therapeutic targets
Provisionally accepted- First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing worldwide and has become the greatest potential risk for cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The metabolites produced by the gut microbiota act as signal molecules that mediate the interaction between microorganisms and the host and have biphasic effects on human health. The gut microbiota and its metabolites, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), have been discovered to ameliorate many prevalent liver diseases, including NAFLD.Currently, SCFAs have attracted widespread attention as potential therapeutic targets for NAFLD, but the mechanism of action has not been fully elucidated. This article summarizes the mechanisms of short-chain fatty acids of gut microbiota metabolites to regulate the metabolism of glucose and lipid, maintain the intestinal barrier, alleviate the inflammatory response, and improve the oxidative stressto improve NAFLD, in order to provide a reference for clinical application.
Keywords: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, short-chain fatty acids, Gut Microbiota, Glycolipid metabolism, therapy
Received: 05 Dec 2024; Accepted: 12 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qin, Mengyao, He and Zheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Beihui He, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
Yuelin Zheng, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.