I was reading about gut microbial activity and came across several recent papers confirming that gut flora metabolism of dietary choline, results in oxidize trimethylamine (TMA), which is purported to be a risk factor for developing heart disease. Since I supplement choline as many do and was concerned about this and wanted to bring it to the groups attention. Below are two article but there are several others.
1. Elevated levels of plasma trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), the product of gut microbiome and hepatic-mediated metabolism of dietary choline and L-carnitine, have recently been identified as a novel risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis in mice and humans. The goal of this study was to identify the genetic factors associated with plasma TMAO levels.
http://atvb.ahajourn...34/6/1307.short
2. Choline and trimethylamine (TMA) are small molecules that play central roles in biological processes throughout all kingdoms of life. These ubiquitous metabolites are linked through a single biochemical transformation, the conversion of choline to TMA by anaerobic microorganisms. This metabolic activity, which contributes to methanogenesis and human disease, has been known for over a century but has eluded genetic and biochemical characterization.
http://www.pnas.org/.../52/21307.short