Colonic Substrate Delivery for Butyrate and Caproate Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods do not effectively enhance the production of butyrate and caproate, key fatty acids for treating metabolic and neurological disorders, due to limited understanding of microbial pathways and inefficient delivery systems.
Innovation Solution
Formulating a colonic delivery system using substrates like ethanol and lactate, combined with pH-independent erodible polymers and specific enzymes, to enhance chain elongation by gut microbiome, ensuring targeted release in the colon.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional carbohydrate fermentation pathways are used for butyrate production, then production is limited to conventional pathways, but caproate production is not achieved since caproate is not a product of conventional carbohydrate fermentation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the fermentation system by introducing ethanol and lactate as alternative substrates alongside conventional carbohydrates. This parameter change enables the gut microbiome to produce both butyrate and caproate through chain elongation pathways, overcoming the limitation of conventional carbohydrate fermentation that cannot produce caproate.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite substrate formulation containing multiple components (carbohydrates, ethanol, and/or lactate) that work together to enable both conventional butyrate production and novel caproate production through chain elongation. This composite approach allows the system to achieve versatility in fatty acid production while maintaining high productivity.
2Ease of operation
If substrates are delivered orally, then delivery is simple, but substrates may be absorbed or degraded before reaching the colon where chain elongation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a colonic delivery system as an intermediary device that protects substrates (ethanol and/or lactate) from premature absorption or degradation in the upper gastrointestinal tract. This delivery system ensures reliable substrate availability in the colon while maintaining ease of oral administration, resolving the contradiction between delivery simplicity and substrate availability reliability.
3Productivity
If chain elongation is enhanced by adding ethanol and lactate, then caproate production increases, but the complexity of the delivery system and formulation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The colonic delivery system is designed with multi-functionality to reduce overall formulation complexity. It simultaneously protects multiple substrates (ethanol and/or lactate), controls their release timing, and ensures their delivery to the colon. This universal design approach allows enhanced caproate production without proportionally increasing formulation complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Increases production of medium-chain and short-chain fatty acids, effectively treating conditions such as diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer's disease, and inflammatory bowel diseases by modulating gut microbiota.
Implementation Method 1
a pH-independent erodible polymer that delays the release of the at least one substrate for chain elongation for at least four hours after gastric emptying
Implementation Method 2
Chain elongation by the gut microbiome leads to enhanced production of volatile fatty acids, including butyrate and caproate
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are methods and compositions related to increasing beneficial short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids production by gut microbiome. The beneficial short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids include, for example, butyrate and coproate. The compositions comprise a substrate for chain elongation by gut microbiome selected from ethanol, lactate, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the compositions are formulation for colonic delivery.