Trimethylamine, a gut molecule, could combat diabetes: Study

A new international study has identified a naturally occurring gut molecule with remarkable potential to combat insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

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The compound, trimethylamine (TMA), appears to directly block a key immune protein, leading to reduced inflammation and improved insulin sensitivity.

The research, published in Nature Metabolism, shows that TMA—a metabolite produced when gut microbes break down dietary choline — can inhibit the immune protein IRAK4. Overactivation of IRAK4 is a major driver of inflammation linked to high-fat diets, insulin resistance, and metabolic dysfunction.

The breakthrough comes from a team led by Professor Marc-Emmanuel Dumas at Imperial College London and CNRS, in collaboration with Prof Patrice Cani (Imperial College & UCLouvain), Dr Dominique Gauguier (INSERM, Paris), and Prof. Peter Liu (University of Ottawa Heart Institute).