SJSCIENCE
ISSUE 70, SPRING 2025

Issue No 70.
Spring 2025

The Role Of Trimethylamine N-oxide In Red Meat With Respect To Cardiovascular Health Risks And Human Systemic Circulation

Meena Sahely,Vanessa klein, Daniel Todd, Shania Okorie
Mentor: Melchor L Bareng, PhD, PGCOHS, PGCCTM

The papers about diet and the risks of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are numerous and often contradictory. We cannot even point to a particular diet component, metabolites, or additives. Ever-changing microbiota adds to the confusion. One of the examples is trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a dietary byproduct formed by gastrointestinal bacteria during digestion. It is derived in part from nutrients that are abundant in red meat. People who eat a diet rich in red meat have triple the TMAO levels of those who eat a diet rich in either white meat or mostly plant-based proteins. TMAO is a circulating biomarker associated with CVD.

SJSM students focused on TMAO challenges and the attached poster is a summary of their report.