Abstract
Information on the correlation between intestinal microbiota and cardiovascular risk is growing. Some species of the microbiota influence the metabolism of specific food components (such as carnitine, choline, phosphatidyl-choline), synthesizing the precursor of trimethylamine oxide, a molecule with documented harmful activity on the vascular wall. Other strains, on the other hand, metabolize dietary fibre by synthesizing short-chain fatty acids, which have a significant anti-inflammatory activity, or produce secondary metabolites originating from molecules present in food (such as enterodiol, which derives from lignin), characterized by a vascular protection activity. Prebiotic effects from plant compounds (such as berberine or resveratrol) are also documented, which would induce favourable changes in the composition of the microbiota. The possibility of influencing the composition and activity of the intestinal microbiota will probably represent, in the future, an important component of cardiovascular prevention strategies.