TY - JOUR T1 - Identification of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO)-producer phenotype is interesting, but is it helpful? JF - Gut JO - Gut DO - 10.1136/gutjnl-2018-318000 SP - gutjnl-2018-318000 AU - Arduino Arduini AU - Victor A Zammit AU - Mario Bonomini Y1 - 2019/01/10 UR - http://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2019/01/11/gutjnl-2018-318000.abstract N2 - We read with great interest the paper by Wu et al 1 reporting on the development of a carnitine challenge test to facilitate the identification of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO)-producer phenotype and host-diet-gut dysbiosis. Such a test assumes that, according to a partial reading of the literature, TMAO plays a key role in cardiovascular disease (CVD). Accordingly, the authors assert the implied importance of the potential for adverse CVD-inducing actions of compounds generating TMAO subsequent to the action of gut microbiota on dietary carnitine. However, a more objective reading of the literature shows that the biomedical community is still debating the potential involvement of TMAO in inducing … ER -