ArticlePathogens (Basel, Switzerland)2013
Metabolism of cholesterol and bile acids by the gut microbiota.
Article in Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 287 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
287 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 558 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Microbiota in Cirrhosis: A Change Towards a More Pathogenic Predisposition.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of gut microbial therapy on lipid profile in individuals with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: an umbrella meta-analysis study.Systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- The Effects of Probiotics, Prebiotics and Synbiotics in Non-Alcoholic Fat Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH): A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Systemic and gut microbiome changes with metformin and liraglutide in youth-onset type 2 diabetes: the MIGHTY study.Gut microbes · 2025Trial
- Faecal microbiota of schoolchildren is associated with nutritional status and markers of inflammation: a double-blinded cluster-randomized controlled trial using multi-micronutrient fortified rice.Nature communications · 2024Trial
- Trial
- The gut microbiome and mitochondrial function in metabolism, immunity, and disease.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Compound probiotics alleviateVirulence · 2026Article
- Commensal Dysbiosis Alters Primary Bile Acid Signaling to Drive Mammary Gland Inflammation and Breast Tumor Dissemination.Cancer research · 2026Article
- The Impact of Nutrition on DNA Methylation: Methodological Challenges in Understanding Cause and Effect.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Review
- Gut Microbiota in NSAID Enteropathy: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives for Therapeutic Strategies.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Pharmacomicrobiomics of Non-Antibiotic Drugs: Mechanisms and Clinical Consequences of Gut Microbiota Alterations.Pharmaceutics · 2026Review
- Review
- The Role of Selected Bacteria in Breast Cancer Initiation and Development.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The Dual Roles of Gut Microbiota in Biliary Atresia: Mechanisms, Biomarker Potential, and Therapeutic Implications.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Replacing up to 50% of Corn Silage with Triticale Silage Alters the Fecal Microbiome but Not Milk Yield or Composition in Mid-Lactation Holstein Cows.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Bidirectional interplay between gut and liver in inflammatory bowel disease and hepatobiliary conditions.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2026Review
- A Gut Signature of Microbiome, Bile Acid, and Quorum-Sensing Profiles Is Associated withMicroorganisms · 2026Article
227 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The human gastro-intestinal tract hosts a complex and diverse microbial community, whose collective genetic coding capacity vastly exceeds that of the human genome. As a consequence, the gut microbiota produces metabolites from a large range of molecules that host's enzymes are not able to convert. Among these molecules, two main classes of steroids, cholesterol and bile acids, denote two different examples of bacterial metabolism in the gut. Therefore, cholesterol is mainly converted into coprostanol, a non absorbable sterol which is excreted in the feces. Moreover, this conversion occurs in a part of the human population only. Conversely, the primary bile acids (cholic and chenodeoxycholic acids) are converted to over twenty different secondary bile acid metabolites by the gut microbiota. The main bile salt conversions, which appear in the gut of the whole human population, include deconjugation, oxidation and epimerization of hydroxyl groups at C3, C7 and C12, 7-dehydroxylation, esterification and desulfatation. If the metabolisms of cholesterol and bile acids by the gut microbiota are known for decades, their consequences on human health and disease are poorly understood and only start to be considered.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.