Tributyrin Supplement: A Buyer’s Guide
What a Tributyrin Supplement Is
A tributyrin supplement delivers butyrate in a fat-based form. Tributyrin is a triglyceride with three butyrate molecules attached to a glycerol backbone, so it acts as a butyrate prodrug: digestive enzymes split it and release butyrate. It occurs naturally in butter, according to the authors of a 2026 study.
Butyrate itself is a short-chain fatty acid that gut bacteria make when they ferment dietary fiber. A review in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics describes it as an important energy source for the cells lining the colon, while noting that human data on its effects are still limited.
Ultimate Gut is published by Ultimate Health Solutions, which sells a yogurt maker, probiotic capsules and an inulin fiber supplement. None of the products reviewed here are ours, and these brands don’t pay us.
Tributyrin is sold as a dietary supplement, and the FDA is not authorized to approve dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed. This guide is general information, not medical advice.
What the Human Evidence Shows
The human research on tributyrin supplements is small and early:
- ButyraGen pilot (2024): in a single-blind pilot published in Nutrition and Healthy Aging, 24 healthy adults finished 21 days on a tributyrin complex at one of two doses. It was well tolerated, with two people reporting stomach discomfort. Gut microbiome makeup, gut permeability and most blood markers did not change significantly, and triglycerides rose in the higher-dose group. The ingredient’s maker funded the study.
- CoreBiome trial (2024-2025): a randomized crossover trial at Florida State University, with the ingredient supplier as a collaborator, planned to test 300 mg a day for four weeks. It was stopped for loss of funding after four participants, and no results are posted.
- CoreBiome lab study (2025): a gut-simulator study found that roughly half or more of the tributyrin survived simulated upper digestion and that it raised butyrate in a model colon. That was a lab model, not people.
- Parkinson’s disease (2026): an open-label study gave 500 mg three times a day for about 30 days to 14 people with Parkinson’s and 3 controls. It reported good tolerance and some exploratory changes, but there was no placebo group, and the authors called for larger controlled trials.
- Older cancer studies: phase I trials in the 1990s and 2000s used doses many times higher than supplements, such as 50 to 400 mg per kilogram of body weight a day. They tested safety and blood levels, not gut health.
We found no placebo-controlled trial showing that a tributyrin supplement improves digestion, bowel habits or gut health in healthy people. Claims that tributyrin “reduces inflammation” or repairs the gut lining are not supported by human trials of these products.
Tributyrin vs Sodium or Calcium Butyrate
Butyrate supplements come in two main forms: salts (sodium, calcium, magnesium or lysine butyrate) and esters such as tributyrin. Here is how they compare on what has been measured.
| Form | What it is | What research shows |
|---|---|---|
| Sodium, calcium or magnesium butyrate | Butyric acid bound to a mineral | Oral butyrate is unstable in the upper digestive tract and very little reaches the colon, according to the CoreBiome lab study. Sodium butyrate is also used up quickly by gut cells, leaving low blood levels, per the Parkinson’s study authors. |
| Lysine butyrate | Butyric acid bound to the amino acid lysine | In a crossover study of 10 men, lysine and sodium butyrate reached higher, faster peaks in blood than tributyrin at the same butyric acid dose. |
| Tributyrin | Three butyrates on a glycerol backbone | Marketed to resist stomach acid. Lab models disagree: the CoreBiome study found much of it survived to the colon, while a Maastricht model found a tributyrin-containing oil was split quickly in the stomach compartment. Blood peaks were slower and lower in the 10-man study. |
| Butyrate-enriched triglycerides | Butyrate and other fatty acids on a glycerol backbone | In a crossover trial with 12 men, one such ingredient raised blood butyrate after a meal without changing metabolic markers. |
Blood levels and colon delivery are different questions. A form that shows up slowly in blood may or may not deliver more butyrate to the colon, and we found no human study that measured colon delivery for these forms side by side. Salts also add sodium, calcium or magnesium to your day.
Smell, Taste and Side Effects
Odor is a known complaint with butyrate products, and all three products below come as softgels or delayed-release capsules rather than loose powder. In the high-dose phase I trial, reported side effects included nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, headache and odor. Those doses were far above supplement levels.
At supplement doses, the ButyraGen pilot reported few problems, but it had only 24 finishers and lasted three weeks. Healthy Gut suggests starting with one capsule a day, or every third day for sensitive people, and building up. Designs for Health and Healthy Gut advise talking with a health care provider first if you are pregnant, nursing or managing a health condition, and Ritual gives the same advice for pregnancy and nursing. Ritual’s page also mentions possible minor gas, bloating or stomach rumbling.
Example Tributyrin Products, Label-Checked
These are widely sold examples, not recommendations. Details come from each brand’s product page; labels checked October 2026. Prices are left out because they change often.
| Product | Tributyrin per serving | Other ingredients | Directions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designs for Health Tri-Butyrin Supreme | 300 mg (as CoreBiome) per softgel | Black cumin seed oil, medium-chain triglycerides | 1 softgel a day | The page’s FAQ says “300 mg of butyrate,” which is not the same measure as 300 mg of tributyrin |
| Healthy Gut Tributyrin-X | 500 mg per softgel | Enteric pectin capsule (PXRcap) | Start with 1 a day and build to 3 | Page says it “reduces inflammation” and “stabilizes mast cells”; no human trial of this product supports that |
| Ritual Synbiotic+ | 300 mg (as CoreBiome) per capsule | L. rhamnosus GG and B. lactis BB-12 (11 billion CFU at expiration), PreforPro phage blend | 1 capsule a day | Ritual says the tributyrin was “clinically studied” at 300 mg; a registered trial of 103 women tested the whole formula, not tributyrin alone |
If you are mainly after probiotics, our Ritual Synbiotic+ review looks at that product in detail, and our gut health supplements guide covers other categories.
Food First: Raising Butyrate With Fiber
Your gut bacteria already make butyrate from fiber, and some fibers work better than others. In a University of Michigan study of 174 healthy young adults over two weeks, resistant starch from potatoes produced the largest rise in short-chain fatty acids, including butyrate. Resistant starch from corn and inulin from chicory root did not raise fecal butyrate significantly, and results depended on which bacteria each person already had.
Cleveland Clinic lists food sources of resistant starch:
- Oats, barley, brown rice and other whole grains
- Beans and other legumes
- Green (unripe) bananas
- Potatoes, rice and pasta that are cooked and then cooled, for example in the fridge overnight
The Mayo Clinic lists daily fiber targets of 25 grams for women 50 and younger and 38 grams for men 50 and younger, and it advises increasing fiber over a few weeks, with plenty of water, to limit gas, bloating and cramping. For more, see our fiber supplement guide and best foods for gut health.
Who Should Skip It or Ask a Doctor First
- People who are pregnant or nursing, as all three brands caution
- Anyone taking prescription medication or managing a health condition
- People with a digestive disease, since tributyrin has not been tested for these conditions outside research settings
- Children, unless a pediatrician advises it, since tributyrin has not been studied in healthy children
If you have ongoing digestive symptoms, see a doctor rather than trying supplements first. Fiber-rich foods remain the better-studied way to support your own butyrate production, as covered in our gut health diet plan.
Related Topics
- Fiber Supplement: which fibers have the most research and how to start them.
- Gut Health Supplements: probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics compared.
- Ritual Synbiotic+: a closer look at a probiotic that includes tributyrin.
- Best Foods for Gut Health: fiber and fermented foods to build meals around.
- Gut Health Diet Plan: putting fiber-rich foods into a weekly routine.
Sources
- Hamer HM, et al. Review article: the role of butyrate on colonic function (Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2008)
- Conley BA, et al. Phase I study of the orally administered butyrate prodrug, tributyrin, in patients with solid tumors (Clinical Cancer Research, 1998)
- Bohnen JLB, et al. Dietary tributyrin supplementation in Parkinson’s disease: An open-label target engagement study (Neurotherapeutics, 2026)
- Smith M, et al. Investigation of the tolerability and potential health benefits of a novel butyrate generating supplement in a pilot human study (Nutrition and Healthy Aging, 2024)
- Tributyrin: Time Course & Efficacy to Improve Health & Performance (NCT06501898) (ClinicalTrials.gov)
- Duysburgh C, et al. Tributyrin (CoreBiome) enhances butyrate levels and modulates the gut microbiota, barrier function, and immune response in vitro (Frontiers in Nutrition, 2025)
- La Monica M, et al. A Pharmacokinetic Comparison of Three Butyrate Products (Journal of Exercise and Nutrition, 2025)
- van Deuren T, et al. Butyrate and hexanoate-enriched triglycerides increase postprandrial systemic butyrate and hexanoate in men with overweight/obesity (Frontiers in Nutrition, 2023)
- Baxter NT, et al. Dynamics of Human Gut Microbiota and Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Response to Dietary Interventions with Three Fermentable Fibers (mBio, 2019)
- Ritual Synbiotic+, a Dietary Supplement Designed to Impact Gastrointestinal Health, Mood, and Behavior in Women (NCT06834984) (ClinicalTrials.gov)
- What Is Resistant Starch? Foods and Benefits (Cleveland Clinic)
- Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet (Mayo Clinic)
- Information for Consumers on Using Dietary Supplements (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
- Tri-Butyrin Supreme (Designs for Health product page, label checked October 2026)
- Tributyrin-X (Healthy Gut product page, label checked October 2026)
- Synbiotic+ (Ritual product page, label checked October 2026)
This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before changing your diet, supplements or medication, especially if you have a health condition.
