Re: "supplementation with choline or TMAO promoted atherosclerosis."
"That quote I gave in post #34 is from the abstract, not the article."
OK. Both say essentially the same thing, but in order for it to be true, gut bugs must work on the choline to produce at least TMAO. That conditional is present in both this article and the original article in Nature and it is- without the action of the gut bugs on choline, choline supplementation, or excess dietary choline has no effect on CVD.
OK. Both say essentially the same thing, but in order for it to be true, gut bugs must work on the choline to produce at least TMAO.No, it's when the bugs metabolize phosphatidylcholine, an ester, they produce TMAO, betaine and choline. Part of the metabolim is the reverse of the reaction shown below. A fair amount of the choline is used to regenerate the neurotransmiiter acetylcholine which is used in many parts of the nervous system including parts ennervating the gut.
Organic caids and alcohols make esters, as in polyesters. Phosphatidylcholine will get hydrolyzed, i.e. add water, the reverse reaction, yielding phosphatidic acid and choline in the presence of an enzyme.