Evaluating the Effects of Propionate and Butyrate Supplementation on the Intestinal Health of Healthy Volunteers

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To determine the feasibility of repeated microencapsulated propionate and butyrate (mPB) administration as assessed by compliance; ability to consume at least 75% of the scheduled doses on a weekly basis.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine the safety of repeated mPB administration. II. To estimate blood and stool levels of propionate and butyrate metabolite content with repeated administration of mPB.

III. To identify a feasible target dose (TD) of repeated mPB administration in transplant patients as determined by dosing adherence and pharmacokinetic measures in blood and stool of healthy volunteers.

OUTLINE:

Participants receive microencapsulated sodium propionate orally (PO) four times daily (QID) for 1 week. Participants then receive microencapsulated sodium propionate PO QID and microencapsulated sodium butyrate PO QID for 1 week. Participants also undergo collection of blood samples throughout the study.

After completion of study intervention, participants are followed up for 1 week.

Participants receive microencapsulated sodium propionate PO QID for 1 week. Participants then receive microencapsulated sodium propionate PO QID and microencapsulated sodium butyrate PO QID for 1 week. Participants also undergo collection of blood samples throughout the study.

Procedure: Biospecimen Collection · Drug: Microencapsulated Sodium Butyrate · Drug: Microencapsulated Sodium Propionate

Undergo collection of blood samples

Given PO

Given PO

Plazo: During 2 week intervention period

Evaluated by assessment of subject's ability to take at least 75% of the specified dose on a weekly basis. Vomiting within an hour after taking a dose will be considered a missed dose. Participants who do not meet this criterion will be considered as feasibility failure.

Plazo: From the first dose of microencapsulated sodium propionate to the first observation of toxicities or by day +7 after the last dose of microencapsulated propionate and butyrate

Adverse events will be categorized by type, frequency, severity, attribution, onset, and duration. Safety summaries will inform dosing decisions.

Plazo: At baseline and up to 3 weeks

Longitudinal blood and stool concentrations of propionate will be analyzed relative to baseline using complementary modeling approaches. First, repeated measurements over time will be analyzed using linear mixed-effects models with subject-specific random effects to account for within-individual correlation and irregular sampling, allowing estimation of population-level temporal exposure patterns following dosing. Second, cumulative metabolite exposure from baseline will be summarized at the subject level using area-under-the-curve (AUC) metrics, calculated using the trapezoidal rule. These AUC measures provide an integrated summary of longitudinal exposure and will be used to characterize dose-exposure relationships and inter-individual variability. Exposure estimates derived from healthy volunteers will inform dose selection and optimization for subsequent studies in transplant patients.

Plazo: At baseline and up to 3 weeks

Longitudinal blood and stool concentrations of butyrate will be analyzed relative to baseline using complementary modeling approaches. First, repeated measurements over time will be analyzed using linear mixed-effects models with subject-specific random effects to account for within-individual correlation and irregular sampling, allowing estimation of population-level temporal exposure patterns following dosing. Second, cumulative metabolite exposure from baseline will be summarized at the subject level using area-under-the-curve (AUC) metrics, calculated using the trapezoidal rule. These AUC measures provide an integrated summary of longitudinal exposure and will be used to characterize dose-exposure relationships and inter-individual variability. Exposure estimates derived from healthy volunteers will inform dose selection and optimization for subsequent studies in transplant patients.

Plazo: During 2 week intervention period

assessed by compliance

subject's ability to take at least 75% of the specified dose on a weekly basis

A Pilot Feasibility Study of Oral Administration of Microencapsulated Propionate and Butyrate in Healthy Volunteers