Research

Hormonal

Activation of the alternative bile acid synthetic pathway, specifically via increased CYP7B1 expression and non-12α-hydroxylated bile acids (e.g., CDCA, TUDCA), improves glucose and lipid metabolism by reducing lipid absorption and enhancing energy expenditure.

Focus on dietary patterns or interventions that support the alternative bile acid pathway, such as consuming polyphenol-rich foods like Pu-erh tea (theabrownin) or fermented foods that may influence gut microbiota bile salt hydrolase activity. This shift favors non-12α-hydroxylated bile acids, which are associated with improved glucose tolerance and reduced lipid absorption in metabolic disease contexts.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
activation of the BA alternative pathway had beneficial effects on glucose and lipid metabolism... increased BA synthesis decreased cholesterol levels and also increased the excretion of fecal BAs
Wei Jia et al. · Protein & Cell · 2020

Why this rating

The paper is a review summarizing multiple studies, including mouse models and some human observational data, but lacks large-scale randomized controlled trials for most interventions.

Source

Targeting the alternative bile acid synthetic pathway for metabolic diseases

Wei Jia et al. · Protein & Cell · 2020

DOI 10.1007/s13238-020-00804-9

narrative_reviewCited 318×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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