INFORM October 2025

24 • inform October 2025, Vol. 36 (9)

will help us to better understand olive oil’s role as a functional food in the prevention of cardiovascular, Alzheimer’s and other diseases. Having developed a consistent method for determin ing DMB concentrations in olive oil, our team will measure how effective it is at inhibiting the action of the TMA enzyme and lactation has shown to alleviate hypertension in mice, provid ing insight into the therapeutic potential of DMB as a microbi ota-based metabolite (https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13093041). The study’s researchers suggested that if future human studies show similar results, DMB could lead to new strategies for pre Chromatograms for 100 μg/L DMB in blank olive oil (a), blank olive oil (b), Olive oil sample N2 (c). Source: Kiritsakis, et al. , J Food Bio , 30, 2025, CC 4.0. the formation of TMAO compounds. WHAT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN ABOUT TMA AND TMAO To highlight the overall importance of olive oil and the key role of DMB in the reduction of TMA and its derivative TMAO, our team notes the crucial dietary role that it has played in Mediterranean culture for thousands of years and in recent years worldwide. Numerous studies have highlighted olive oil as an important source of antioxidants based on its pheno lic profile, which includes phenolic acids and alcohols, poly phenols, lignans, secoiridoids, oleacein and oleocanthal. The biological effects of olive oil components include protection against cardiovascular diseases, anti-inflammatory action and neuro- and endothelial protection. Regarding TMA, scientists highlight that it is produced by the gut microbiota, derived from foods such as red meat, and then absorbed into the bloodstream and oxidized to TMAO in the liver. TMAO appears to facilitate the development of ath erosclerosis in animal models that feed a diet rich in animal protein. TMAO, a gut microbiota-dependent metabolite, is associated with inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, the immunological processes of which mirror those of rheuma toid arthritis. Citing research conducted at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and the University of California, Los Angeles, our study notes that the gut-microbiota-derived metabolite TMAO is associated with poor prognosis in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Experiments on mice reported that dietary supplementation with DMB inhibited atherosclerosis and significantly reduced TMAO production. A preclinical study in 2015, led by Zeneng Wang showed that DMB reduced TMAO levels, inhibiting atherosclerosis in animal models. Thus, DMB is an orally active inhibitor of trimethylamine (TMA) and TMAO. In addition, treatment with DMB during pregnancy and