Pietzner M, Budde K, Rühlemann M, et al. - Since the exocrine pancreatic function is vitally involved in regulating the compositionof the gut microbiota, researchers assessed how the exocrine pancreas contributes to metabolism via modulation of gut microbiota. Fecal samples were obtained in 2,226 candidates of the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP/SHIP-TREND) to assess exocrine pancreatic function (pancreatic elastase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and intestinal microbiota profiles (16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene sequencing). The exocrine pancreatic function was linked to changes in the abundance of 28 taxa and, simultaneously, with those of 16 plasma metabolites. Such findings indicate that the effect of exocrine pancreatic function on the composition of the intestinal microbiota changes the availability of microbial-derived metabolites in the blood and thus directly leads to the host metabolic changes linked to exocrine pancreatic dysfunction.