Study links Greenvit’s Aronvit aronia extract to higher gut SCFA production

New preclinical research on Greenvit’s Aronvit ingredient indicates that it may influence gut microbiota and metabolic activity. The ex vivo study is yet to be published. 

Greenvit says the study indicates that 24 hours after a single dose of 200 mg of Aronvit, total bacterial density increased by 15%. Moreover, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) increased by 10%, as well as the presence of several key butyrate-associated bacteria, such as Dysosmobacter welbionis by 129%. 

Aronvit is a standardized Aronia melanocarpa extract that contains at least 15% anthocyanins, at least 25% polyphenols, and at least 10% proanthocyanidins. The company introduced the gut and metabolic health ingredient at Vitafoods Europe 2026.

Nutrition Insight explores the study’s outcomes with Tomasz Sadlik, global sales director at Greenvit.

Polyphenols for metabolic health

The future of polyphenol ingredients is not only about how much polyphenol is present in the extract, but what the microbiome can do with it, says Sadlik.

“Our new ex vivo research shows that aronia composition and processing can strongly influence microbial metabolism, SCFA production, and the generation of potentially bioactive phenolic metabolites.”

He says the research adds to the understanding of aronia by showing that the gut microbiome actively transforms its polyphenols. He notes that the resulting changes in microbial fermentation and metabolite production indicate a link between gut and metabolic health.

Sadlik says that the future of polyphenol ingredients lies in what the microbiome can do with it, not the quantity of compounds in an extract.Aronvit is produced at Greenvit’s facility in Łomża, Poland. Sadlik notes that the whole-spectrum extract is created with the company’s membrane technology, using water as a solvent, so it is “as close to nature as possible.”

Research outcomes

The preclinical, ex vivo study evaluated the impact of three aronia extracts on the gut microbiota composition and metabolic activity.

Sadlik adds: “The experiment used microbiota from six individual donors, which also highlighted substantial person-to-person variation. This also explains why the metabolic effects reported for aronia in human studies are heterogeneous.”

The study used SIFR technology, developed by Cryptobiotix, which simulates the entire gastrointestinal tract, from digestion through gut microbiome fermentation.

Sadlik says the findings are very positive. “It showed that Aronvit modulates the microbiome related to polyphenol metabolism. The most important finding is that it supports the density of the microbiome.”

“One of the most interesting findings was the consistent stimulation of butyrate-associated bacteria. Together with the increase in SCFA production, this suggests that aronia polyphenols may support microbial cross-feeding networks that favor butyrate-producing pathways.”

Sadlik adds that Greenvit is planning to conduct further studies in 2027 with a larger group of donors to gather more data about Aronvit and how it supports the gut microbiome.

“We are in contact with many professors in Poland, for example, at medical universities, and we are gaining more and more knowledge about how polyphenols and gut health are important for people.”

Targeted responses

From an ingredient-development perspective, the study is relevant to the growing convergence between gut health and metabolic health, says Sadlik.

The analyzed extracts had a similar anthocyanin level, but varied in total polyphenol and fiber content, leading to different responses.“Instead of positioning polyphenols solely as antioxidants, aronia-based ingredients can increasingly be investigated as substrates for microbiome-mediated metabolism — with measurable outputs such as SCFAs, microbial phenolic metabolites, and changes in specific functional bacterial groups.”

He says that one of the most important findings is that aronia extracts are not biologically interchangeable. 

“Although the three analyzed extracts were standardized to a very similar anthocyanin level of approximately 15%, they differed substantially in total polyphenol and fiber content. These compositional differences translated into different microbiome and metabolic responses.”

“The study showed that aronia can influence not only microbiota composition but, importantly, microbiota function,” continues Sadlik. 

“Across the extracts, we observed changes in SCFA production, luminal pH, and the generation of microbial metabolites derived from polyphenols. This functional perspective may be more informative than looking at bacterial diversity alone.”

From the gut to metabolic health

Sadlik says that SCFAs provide one plausible mechanistic bridge between gut and metabolic physiology.

“The study demonstrated significant increases in acetate and total SCFAs with selected extracts and increases in propionate as well, while butyrate showed a positive but donor-dependent response,” he details.

“These metabolites are relevant because microbial fermentation products participate in intestinal barrier biology and host metabolic signaling, although this ex vivo experiment does not demonstrate systemic clinical effects.”

He adds that the team also saw coordinated directional increases in several bacteria associated with butyrate production and microbial cross-feeding in microbiota composition analysis. These included Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Anaerobutyricum hallii, Roseburia, Faecalibacillus, Gemmiger, and Coprococcus.

Greenvit’s standardization process starts with raw material selection, where its in-house analytical lab tests anthocyanin and polyphenol levels.Sadlik explains: “These microorganisms are part of cross-feeding networks in which metabolites produced by one microbial group can be used by another to generate butyrate.”

“We also have observed a two-way interaction: the microbiota transforms aronia polyphenols, while the polyphenol-rich ingredient can in turn alter microbial metabolism,” he adds. 

“In our study, the changes in phenolic metabolites were actually more pronounced than the overall changes in community composition, suggesting that functional metabolic activity may be one of the key ways aronia interacts with the gut microbiome.”

Ingredient standardization

The study also indicates that standardization should go beyond declaring anthocyanin or total polyphenol content, says Sadlik.

“Extraction technology, matrix composition, fiber content, and microbial accessibility appear to determine what actually happens when the ingredient reaches the gut. The study therefore supports a more functional approach to characterizing high-quality aronia ingredients — looking at microbial metabolism, SCFAs and bioactive metabolites alongside chemical standardization.”

He explains that Greenvit’s standardization process starts with selecting batches of the raw material, which he says is a crucial step. “We have an in-house analytical lab that allows us to measure anthocyanin and polyphenol levels,” he adds.

“Standardization is crucial because it shows the stability of the product,” underscores Sadlik. “It shows your knowledge and, from a quality point of view, it is one of the most important parts of the ingredient that we are offering.”