Food grade Feed grade Sodium Butyrate CAS 156-54-7

What is sodium butyrate?

Sodium butyrate (also known as sodium n-butyrate) is the sodium salt of butyric acid. It is a widely used sodium salt in the fields of short-chain fatty acid chemistry and life science research. Its chemical formula is usually written as:

CH3CH2CH2COONa (C4H7NaO2, CAS No.: 156-54-7, EINECS No.: 205-857-1, molecular weight approx. 110.09)

It is a white crystalline powder at room temperature, odorless or with a slight sour smell characteristic of butyric acid, with a melting point of approximately 250-253℃ (it decomposes upon melting), is soluble in water, and is hygroscopic. Butyric acid is one of the main short-chain fatty acids produced by the fermentation of dietary fiber by intestinal microorganisms. It is naturally found in butter and cheese, giving them their distinctive flavor. Reagent-grade products must be refined from high-purity raw materials and subject to stricter purity and impurity standards.

From a molecular structure perspective, sodium butyrate consists of a four-carbon short-chain fatty acid group (butyrate group) and a sodium ion. In life sciences, butyrate has multiple research values: it is a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, regulating gene expression and epigenetics; it is the preferred energy source for intestinal epithelium and participates in gut-brain axis signaling; it is also a common component in cell culture media, participating in metabolic studies—this multifaceted role as "HDAC inhibitor + energy substrate + signaling molecule" makes sodium butyrate a classic reagent in epigenetics, gut microbiota, and metabolic research. In industry, its carboxylate group can participate in esterification and other reactions, becoming a raw material for the synthesis of butyrate derivatives.

Chemically, sodium butyrate is soluble in water, stable, and hygroscopic. It is low in toxicity and mild, but butyric acid has a strong odor and must be stored in a sealed, moisture-proof container. Reagent-grade products are for laboratory use only and are strictly prohibited from consumption.

Non-food grade and non-feed grade sodium butyrate refers to products intended for industrial and scientific research applications, neither used in food or dietary supplements nor in animal feed. These mainly include industrial grade and reagent grade specifications. Compared to food grade and feed grade, these products place greater emphasis on the following indicators:

Heavy metal limits

Reagent-grade reagents have strict limits on heavy metal content to ensure experimental safety and analytical reliability.

Moisture

Sodium butyrate is hygroscopic, and moisture content must be strictly controlled to ensure the accuracy of reagent preparation and storage stability.

Water-insoluble matter and clarity

The aqueous solution must be clear and transparent, free of mechanical impurities, to ensure the cleanliness of the experimental system.

Melting point

The melting point of pure product is about 250-253℃. An abnormal melting point often indicates impurities and is an important reference indicator of purity.

What are the uses of sodium butyrate?

1. Raw materials for dietary supplements and post-biotic functional foods

( 1 ) Food-grade sodium butyrate is used as a raw material for human intestinal health dietary supplements (post-biotic supplements). It supplements butyrate in the form of capsules, microcapsules or powders to help maintain the integrity of the intestinal barrier, nourish colonic epithelial cells, relieve bloating and intestinal discomfort. It is a popular supplement in the field of intestinal health in recent years.

(2) Sodium butyrate is used as an ingredient in post-biotic functional foods, and in the development of gut health drinks, functional bars and nutritional supplements to help consumers supplement short-chain fatty acids through daily food.

2. Raw materials for foods for special medical purposes

Sodium butyrate is used in foods for special medical purposes to help repair the intestinal mucosa and improve intestinal absorption in people with intestinal dysfunction and those recovering from surgery, and as a component of nutritional support formulas.

3. Butyrate esters as food flavoring raw materials (derived applications)

Butyric acid and its derivatives (ethyl butyrate, isoamyl butyrate, etc.) are food flavorings permitted for use under GB 2760. They impart aromas to foods such as butter, cheese, and fruit, and are important raw materials in the food flavoring industry (indirectly used in the form of butyric acid/butyrate esters).

4. Dairy product flavor and nutritional fortification

Butyric acid is naturally found in butter and cheese. Food-grade butyric acid derivatives are used to flavor dairy products and fortify functional dairy products with gut health nutrients.

5. Feed additives

( 1 ) Piglet feed (core application): relieves stress and prevents diarrhea during weaning, promotes the development of intestinal villi, optimizes villi crypt ratio, and enhances the body's immunity; increases feed intake, improves feed conversion ratio and daily weight gain, and is a key raw material for antibiotic-free breeding to replace growth-promoting antibiotics.

( 2 ) Poultry feed: Applied to the diets of broilers and laying hens, it strengthens the intestinal barrier, optimizes the mucosal structure, reduces the impact of intestinal diseases such as coccidiosis, and improves feed utilization and production performance. It is the mainstream intestinal conditioning additive for antibiotic-free poultry farming.

( 3 ) Aquatic feed: Incorporate into fish and shrimp formulas to regulate intestinal flora, enhance digestive and absorptive capacity and growth performance, and improve aquaculture survival rate.

( 4 ) Pet nutrition: Add to dog and cat staple food and intestinal care products to balance the intestinal microecology, relieve digestive discomfort and reduce fecal odor.

( 5 ) Ruminant calf feed (expanded application): Used in the diet of young ruminants to help the development of the gastrointestinal tract and improve the efficiency of nutrient absorption. It belongs to the emerging application direction of ruminant nutrition.

6. Sodium butyrate coating sustained-release technology (core process)

Microencapsulated sodium butyrate solves the problems of butyric acid odor and rapid release in the stomach through enteric-coated sustained-release technology, enabling sodium butyrate to safely pass through the stomach and be released at a specific point in the intestine. This is the core product form of feed-grade sodium butyrate, and the coating rate, stomach passage rate, and sustained-release curve are key indicators for evaluating the product.

7. Leather industry auxiliaries

(1) Used as an auxiliary degreasing agent in the leather tanning process of soaking, softening and degreasing, to decompose the free oil in raw hides and improve the cleanliness of the leather surface.

(2) Adjust the pH of the tanning bath to help loosen the collagen fibers in the leather, improve the softness and extensibility of the leather, reduce the hardness of the finished product, and make it suitable for the production of shoe upper leather, clothing leather, furniture leather, etc.

8. Paper industry additives

(1) As a pulp pH buffer regulator, it is used in the internal sizing and papermaking process to stabilize the pulp acidity and alkalinity and reduce the negative impact of pH fluctuations on the retention rate of sizing agents and fillers.

(2) Adjust the fiber charge state, improve the retention rate of fine fibers and fillers, reduce the discharge of white water solids, and use it in the production of cultural paper, packaging paper and specialty paper to optimize paper uniformity and surface strength.

9. Metal surface treatment, electroplating and metalworking aids

(1) Used as a pH buffer component in electroplating solutions and chemical conversion treatment solutions to maintain the acid-base stability of the system and ensure the uniformity and integrity of the coating.

(2) Metal pickling and cleaning processes serve as auxiliary wetting and corrosion inhibitors to prevent excessive corrosion of the substrate; they are used in cutting fluid and wire drawing fluid formulations to provide short-term rust prevention and synergistic lubrication effects, and are suitable for cold working of carbon steel and non-ferrous metals.

10. Textile printing and dyeing and fabric finishing auxiliaries

( 1 ) Used as a leveling agent in the printing and dyeing process to stabilize the pH of the dye bath, improve the solubility of dyes and the uniformity of dyeing, and reduce the risk of color spots and color differences.

(2) Fabric finishing uses softener and antistatic components to improve the smoothness of fiber surface and reduce static electricity accumulation. It is suitable for pretreatment and functional finishing of cotton and chemical fiber blended fabrics.

11 . Short-chain fatty acid analytical standard material (reagent grade, core application)

Sodium butyrate is used as a standard substance for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and is used for intestinal flora detection, metabolomics, and the determination of butyrate in food fermentation. It is a commonly used standard in analytical laboratories.

12. Research on Gut Microbiota and Gut-Brain Axis (Research Grade)

Sodium butyrate, as a key metabolite of gut microbiota, is used in research on gut flora, intestinal mucosal barrier, gut-brain axis and short-chain fatty acid signaling pathways, serving nutritional science, microbiology and neuroscience research.

13. Cell Culture and Metabolic Research

Sodium butyrate is used as a supplementary component of cell culture media and a reagent for metabolic research. It is used in studies of cell differentiation, apoptosis, and metabolic pathways and is a commonly used reagent in biological laboratories.

It should be noted that non-food grade and non-feed grade specifications do not mean "risk-free": Although sodium butyrate is low in toxicity and mild, reagent grade products are for experimental use only and are strictly prohibited from being consumed, while industrial grade products are strictly prohibited from being used in food and feed; butyric acid has a strong odor, so experimental operations should be carried out in a ventilated place, and storage must be sealed and moisture-proof.

Summarize

Sodium butyrate (C4H7NaO2, CAS No. 156-54-7) is a white crystalline powder composed of a four-carbon short-chain fatty acid anion and a sodium ion. It has multiple research values in life sciences as an HDAC inhibitor, an intestinal energy substrate, and a signaling molecule. In daily life, we indirectly encounter it through testing and analysis services, scientific research and university laboratories, teaching experiments, industrial products, and the food and feed industry chain. In non-food and non-feed applications, industrial-grade and reagent-grade sodium butyrate are widely used as a standard material for short-chain fatty acid analysis, in epigenetics and HDAC research, intestinal microecology and gut-brain axis research, cell culture metabolism research, and the synthesis of butyrate derivatives. It is an important butyrate that connects "short-chain fatty acid chemistry" with "detection, scientific research, and chemical engineering."