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| S. no. | Microbial metabolite | Key feature | Imbalance | References |
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| 1 | SCFA | Maintenance of body weight, intestinal homeostasis, and metabolism of glucose and lipids | Increased amounts of SCFAs and increased abundance of SCFA-producing bacteria, such as Fusobacteriaceae and Prevotellaceae, are involved in NAFLD pathogenesis and obesity | [64, 82] |
| 2 | Choline | VLDL export, enterohepatic metabolism of bile, mitochondrial function, epigenetics, ER stress, and VLDL export, making it an essential nutrient | Influences the development of NAFLD and NASH | [83] |
| 3 | TMA & TMAO | Acts as an important stabilizer of protein folded state, and nucleic acid prevents protein denaturation and counteract effect of pressure and heat | High urinary excretion of TMAO causes insulin resistance and NAFLD. | [84] |
| 4 | Amino acids-phenylacetic acid | Dietary amino acids are the major fuel of small intestine mucosa particularly glutamate, glutamine, and aspartate which is the major oxidative fuel of the intestine | Hepatic steatosis in both human hepatocyte and rodents, making it a causal factor in NAFLD pathogenesis | [85, 86] |
| 5 | Ethanol | Bacterial intestinal flora is itself responsible for the production of endogenous ethanol through the fermentation of carbohydrates | It can induce leaky gut through disruption of epithelial-type junctions resulting in bacterial translocation | [40] |
| 6 | Bile acid | Bile acid-induced FXR activity can protect the small intestine by preventing bacterial overgrowth through its antibacterial action.
FXR signaling is also critical for lipid and glucose metabolism | FXR deficiency causes compromised gut barrier function, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and increased hepatic triglyceride level | [76, 78] |
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