What is Clostridium Butyricum?

Clostridium butyricum is a type of beneficial bacteria that can naturally be found in the gut microbiome.

An increasing amount of evidence suggests that species of beneficial gut bacteria have the potential to help us manage a wide range of health conditions.

Clostridium butyricum is a common type of bacteria found in soil and in the human gut

Clostridium butyricum is best known for its ability to produce butyrate—which is a gut-healthy postbiotic

Probiotics containing Clostridium butyricum have been shown to help manage gut health as well as help manage Type 2 diabetes in people taking metformin

What are the benefits of Clostridium butyricum?

In the next few sections, we’ll highlight some of the studies that demonstrate the many potential benefits of Clostridium butyricum.

For people looking to supplement their diet with Clostridium butyricum, there are two Clostridium butyricum-enriched medical-probiotics:

GI Repair

Pendulum Glucose Control

Clostridium butyricum and gut health

GI Repair is a Pendulum product that is rich in Clostridium butyricum.

GI Repair can help relieve occasional:

Constipation

Diarrhea

Gas, and

Bloating

Additionally, GI Repair:

Increases Clostridium butyricum levels a gut-health-friendly targeted probiotic

Contributes to an overall healthy, diverse gut microbiome

Produces the short-chain fatty acid butyrate, which helps healthy bacteria flourish

Clostridium butyricum and Type 2 diabetes

Though research is ongoing, studies show that Clostridium butyricum can help with the management of Type 2 diabetes.1

In people taking metformin, Pendulum Glucose Control—another medical probiotic that contains Clostridium butyricum—reduced:

A1C by as much as 0.6%

After-meal blood-sugar spikes by 33% compared to placebo

What does Clostridium butyricum do?

Clostridium butyricum is named for its ability to convert dietary fiber into butyrate. and has been clinically shown to support:

Healthy gut microflora

Digestion, and

Immune health

Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid that is known to:

Fuel your gut

Strengthen your gut barrier

Because our body isn’t able to produce any butyrate on its own, it depends on microbes like Clostridium butyricum to produce butyrate for us.

How to increase Clostridium butyricum in the gut?

While there are natural sources of Clostridium butyricum (soil, certain vegetables, and spoiled dairy products), taking probiotics containing Clostridium butyricum is the most effective way to increase its levels in your gut.

How many colony forming units of Clostridium butyricum should you take?

There is no set number for the amount of Clostridium butyricum that should be taken.

If you are looking for guidance, consider talking with your healthcare provider and not exceeding the amount suggested by the probiotic manufacturer.

Final thoughts

Over the past decade, scientists have come to see Clostridium butyricum as an important part of the gut microbiome with significant potential as a probiotic.

Research is ongoing, but the evidence so far suggests that Clostridium butyricum may be able to help people manage a wide range of conditions.

For those looking to boost their Clostridium butyricum levels, probiotics are currently the only demonstrated method for increasing Clostridium butyricum in the human gut microbiome.

Get more information.