State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Beijing 100193, China
Curr Protein Pept Sci. 2020;21(8):777-784. doi: 10.2174/1389203721666191231145901.
Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) are the main form of Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) utilized by monogastric animals. MCFAs can be directly absorbed and supply rapid energy to promote the renewal and repair of intestinal epithelial cells, maintain the integrity of intestinal mucosal barrier function, and reduce inflammation and stress. In our review, we pay more attention to the role of MCFAs on intestinal microbiota and mucosa immunity to explore MCFA's positive effect. It was found that MCFAs and their esterified forms can decrease pathogens while increasing probiotics. In addition, being recognized via specific receptors, MCFAs are capable of alleviating inflammation to a certain extent by regulating inflammation and immune-related pathways. MCFAs may also have a certain value to relieve intestinal allergy and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Unknown mechanism of various MCFA characteristics still causes dilemmas in the application, thus MCFAs are used generally in limited dosages and combined with short-chain organic acids (SOAs) to attain ideal results. We hope that further studies will provide guidance for the practical use of MCFAs in animal feed.
中链脂肪酸（MCFAs）是单胃动物利用的中链甘油三酯（MCT）的主要形式。MCFAs 可以被直接吸收，为动物提供快速能量，促进肠道上皮细胞的更新和修复，维持肠道黏膜屏障功能的完整性，减少炎症和应激。在我们的综述中，我们更加关注 MCFAs 对肠道微生物群和黏膜免疫的作用，以探索 MCFA 的积极作用。研究发现，MCFAs 及其酯化形式可以减少病原体，同时增加益生菌。此外，MCFAs 通过特定的受体被识别，能够通过调节炎症和免疫相关途径在一定程度上缓解炎症。MCFAs 可能对缓解肠道过敏和炎症性肠病（IBD）也有一定的价值。各种 MCFA 特性的未知机制仍然在应用中造成了困境，因此 MCFA 通常在有限的剂量下使用，并与短链有机酸（SOAs）结合使用，以达到理想的效果。我们希望进一步的研究能为 MCFAs 在动物饲料中的实际应用提供指导。
