Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7584994 | Food Chemistry | 2018 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
Quaternary ammonium compounds containing N-trimethylamino moiety, such as choline derivatives and carnitine, abundant in meat and dairy products, are metabolic precursors of trimethylamine (TMA). A similar fate is reported for Nε-trimethyllysine and γ-butyrobetaine. With the aim at investigating the metabolic profile of such metabolites in most employed animal dietary sources, HPLC-ESI-MS/MS analyses on ruminant and non-ruminant milk and meat were performed. Results demonstrate, for the first time, the presence of δ-valerobetaine, occurring at levels higher than γ-butyrobetaine in all ruminant samples compared to non-ruminants. Demonstration of δ-valerobetaine metabolic origin, surprisingly, showed that it originates from rumen through the transformation of dietary Nε-trimethyllysine. These results highlight our previous findings showing the ubiquity of free Nε-trimethyllysine in vegetable kingdom. Furthermore, δ-valerobetaine, similarly to γ-butyrobetaine, can be degraded by host gut microbiota producing TMA, precursor of the proatherogenic trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), unveiling its possible role in the biosynthetic route of TMAO.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry
Authors
Luigi Servillo, Nunzia D'Onofrio, Alfonso Giovane, Rosario Casale, Domenico Cautela, Domenico Castaldo, Francesco Iannaccone, Gianluca Neglia, Giuseppe Campanile, Maria Luisa Balestrieri,