Table 5.

Fecal contents of sterols and lipids at week 12 in ApoE^−/− mice

	LFD	WD	WD + TMAO	WD + TMAO + L-HFE	WD + TMAO + H-HFE	p value	p for dose effect
Week 12 fecal neutral sterols (mg/d)
Coprostanol	0.01 ± 0.00c	0.39 ± 0.07b	0.44 ± 0.15b	0.70 ± 0.21a	0.61 ± 0.12a	< 0.001	0.123
Coprostanone	0.01 ± 0.01	0.02 ± 0.02	0.09 ± 0.10	0.16 ± 0.16	0.10 ± 0.13	0.105	0.921
Cholesterol	0.09 ± 0.03c	0.53 ± 0.25b	0.38 ± 0.32bc	0.69 ± 0.35b	1.13 ± 0.56a	< 0.001	0.006
Dihydrocholesterol	0.02 ± 0.01c	0.05 ± 0.01ab	0.04 ± 0.02b	0.05 ± 0.02ab	0.06 ± 0.02a	0.001	0.064
Total neutral sterols	0.12 ± 0.03c	0.99 ± 0.19b	0.95 ± 0.28b	1.60 ± 0.41a	1.90 ± 0.41a	< 0.001	< 0.001
Week 12 fecal acidic sterols (mg/d)
Lithocholic acid	0.24 ± 0.02c	0.74 ± 0.24bc	0.66 ± 0.21bc	1.25 ± 0.34ab	1.61 ± 0.55a	0.003	0.016
Deoxycholic acid	0.40 ± 0.06b	0.80 ± 0.35a	0.46 ± 0.12b	0.59 ± 0.05ab	0.57 ± 0.01ab	0.101	0.119
Chenodeoxycholic acid	0.17 ± 0.04c	0.54 ± 0.16a	0.30 ± 0.07bc	0.40 ± 0.03ab	0.31 ± 0.03bc	0.003	0.807
Cholic acid	0.31 ± 0.12b	0.97 ± 0.21a	0.39 ± 0.15b	0.51 ± 0.28b	0.45 ± 0.05b	0.008	0.693
Total acidic sterols	1.11 ± 0.22c	3.05 ± 0.84a	1.81 ± 0.47bc	2.75 ± 0.36ab	2.94 ± 0.62a	0.006	0.028
Week 12 fecal lipids (mg/d)
Total SFAs	0.59 ± 0.08b	7.04 ± 1.02a	7.08 ± 0.46a	6.76 ± 1.76a	8.20 ± 2.55a	< 0.001	0.471
Total MUFAs	0.21 ± 0.03b	0.78 ± 0.11a	0.76 ± 0.05a	0.84 ± 0.24a	1.04 ± 0.49a	< 0.001	0.162
Total PUFAs	0.10 ± 0.01c	0.20 ± 0.03b	0.19 ± 0.01b	0.21 ± 0.04b	0.28 ± 0.10a	< 0.001	0.176
Total FAs	0.90 ± 0.12b	8.02 ± 1.15a	8.04 ± 0.51a	7.81 ± 2.03a	9.52 ± 3.13a	< 0.001	0.411

Mice were fed a low-fat diet (LFD), a Western diet (WD), or one of the three WDs containing 0.2% TMAO (WD + TMAO), 0.2% TMAO plus 1% hawthorn fruit extract (WD + TMAO + L-HFE), or 0.2% TMAO plus 2% hawthorn fruit extract (WD + TMAO + H-HFE) for 12 weeks. Data are expressed as mean ± SD, n = 8

SFA, saturated fatty acid; MUFA, monounsaturated fatty acid; PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acid; FA, fatty acid

^a,b,cMeans in the same row with different letters differ significantly at p < 0.05 by one-way ANOVA. p for dose effect was analyzed using ordinary linear regression across WD + TMAO, WD + TMAO + L-HFE, and WD + TMAO + H-HFE groups