Table 2.

Cross-sectional clinical studies that assessed the levels of the three main short-chain fatty acids (acetate, butyrate and propionate) in hypertension

Blood pressure measurement	Groups, sample size	Gender and mean age (y)	Main findings in hypertension	Ref
Ambulatory BP monitoring	Untreated HTN (n = 23) vs NT (n = 47)	Men and women HTN (60.3 ± 6.6) NT (59.2 ± 7.7)	↑ plasma acetate and butyrate, positively correlated with SBP and DBP No change in faecal SCFAs ↓ levels of GPR43 expression in immune cells	[29••]
Office BP	Untreated HTN (n = 29) vs NT (n = 32)	Men and women HTN (53.7 ± 9.6) NT (41.1 ± 9.1)	↓ plasma acetate & butyrate ↑ faecal acetate, propionate, butyrate	[66]
Office BP	HTN (n = 22) vs NT (n = 18)	Men and women (age not reported)	↓ plasma butyrate	[67•]
Ambulatory BP monitoring	HTN (n = 38); borderline (n = 7); NT (n = 9)	Men HTN (46.2 ± 11.4); borderline HTN (50.3 ± 13.3); NT (52.5 ± 8.2)	No change in serum and urine SCFAs ↑ faecal acetate, propionate and butyrate in HTN	[68]

DBP diastolic blood pressure, HTN hypertensive patients, NT normotensive participants, SBP systolic blood pressure, SCFAs short-chain fatty acids