Meat Biomarkers (TMAO)

The high consumption of meat in the developed world is an important contributor to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk because of the large content of saturated fats and cholesterol in meat. However, no association between dietary saturated fat intake and CVD was shown in recent meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Therefore, it is suggested that the cholesterol and saturated fat content of red meat may not be sufficient to responsible for the increased CVD risk. This suspicion has stimulated investigation of high salt content, or heterocyclic compounds generated during cooking, which are alternative disease-promoting exposures responsible for increased CVD risk. As a result numerous studies throughout the years, the following metabolites are regarded as biomarkers of meat intake: creatinine, creatine, carnitine, carnosine, taurine, 1-methylhistidine and 3-methylhistidine and TMAO. A recent study showed that in conjunction with taurine and creatinine, 3-methylhistidine and 1-methylhistidine are also regarded as biomarkers of meat intake.