Trial reportFood & function2019
A Mediterranean diet does not alter plasma trimethylamine N-oxide concentrations in healthy adults at risk for colon cancer.
Trial report in Food & function, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Association Between Lifestyle Interventions and Trimethylamine N-Oxide: A Systematic-Narrative Hybrid Literature Review.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- The Gut-Heart Axis: Effects of Intestinal Microbiome Modulation on Cardiovascular Disease-Ready for Therapeutic Interventions?International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Clinical trials targeting the gut-microbiome to effect ocular health: a systematic review.Eye (London, England) · 2023Pooled it
- Mediterranean Diet and its Benefits on Health and Mental Health: A Literature Review.Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH · 2020Pooled it
- Short-Term Mediterranean Dietary Intervention Reduces Plasma Trimethylamine-N-Oxide Levels in Healthy Individuals.Nutrients · 2025Trial
- Assessing the effects of alternative plant-based meatsJournal of nutritional science · 2022Trial
- A randomized crossover trial on the effect of plant-based compared with animal-based meat on trimethylamine-N-oxide and cardiovascular disease risk factors in generally healthy adults: Study With Appetizing Plantfood-Meat Eating Alternative Trial (SWAP-MEAT).The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2020Trial
- Review
- Trimethylamine-N-oxide: the microbial cue in immune-mediated disorders.Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM · 2026Review
- The Mediterranean Diet and Cardiovascular Protection: Biochemical Mechanisms with Emphasis on Platelet-Activating Factor.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Assessing the nutritional value and health risks of special low‑protein foods: narrative review.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2026Review
- Dietary patterns and emotion dysregulation in borderline personality disorder and eating disorders as a shared mechanism underlying symptom severity.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Beyond adherence: refractory dyslipidaemia, the mediterranean diet, and the case for personalized diet-drug complementarity.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Dietary Fatty Acids Modulate Gut Microbiota-Derived Trimethylamine-N-Oxide: Potential Mechanisms and Future Perspective.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Trimethylamine-Annals of medicine · 2025Review
- Dietary Manipulation on Gut Microbiome in Patients with Diabetes and Colorectal cancer.Current nutrition reports · 2025Review
- Trimethylamine-N-Oxide (TMAO) as a Rising-Star Metabolite: Implications for Human Health.Metabolites · 2025Review
- Dietary Interventions for Cancer Prevention: An Update to ACS International Guidelines.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Association between monosodium glutamate consumption with changes in gut microbiota and related metabolic dysbiosis-A systematic review.Food science & nutrition · 2024Review
- Evaluation of the Feasibility of In Vitro Metabolic Interruption of Trimethylamine with Resveratrol Butyrate Esters and Its Purified Monomers.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
An elevated circulating level of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) has been identified as a risk factor for numerous diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD) and colon cancer. TMAO is formed from trimethylamine (TMA)-precursors such as choline via the combined action of the gut microbiota and liver. We conducted a Mediterranean diet intervention that increased intakes of fiber and changed intakes of many other foods containing fat to increase the relative amount of mono-unsaturated fats in the diet. The Mediterranean diet is associated with reduced risks of chronic diseases and might counteract the pro-inflammatory effects of increased TMAO formation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if the Mediterranean diet would reduce TMAO concentrations. Fasting TMAO concentrations were measured before and after six-months of dietary intervention in 115 healthy people at increased risk for colon cancer. No significant changes in plasma TMAO or in the ratios of TMAO to precursor compounds were found in either the Mediterranean group or the comparison group that followed a Healthy Eating diet. TMAO concentrations exhibited positive correlations with age and markers of metabolic health. TMAO concentrations were not associated with circulating cytokines, but the relative abundance of Akkermansia mucinophilia in colon biopsies was modestly and inversely correlated with baseline TMAO, choline, and betaine serum concentrations. These results suggest that broad dietary pattern intervention over six months may not be sufficient for reducing TMAO concentrations in an otherwise healthy population. Disruption of the conversion of dietary TMA to TMAO should be the focus of future studies.
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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.