Trimethylamine N-oxide Trimethylamine N-oxide Trimethylamine "N"-oxide (TMAO) is an organic compound with the formula (CH)NO. It is in the class of amine oxides. Although the anhydrous compound is known, trimethylamine "N"-oxide is usually encountered as the dihydrate. It is a product of the oxidation of trimethylamine, a common metabolite in animals. Both the anhydrous and hydrated materials are white, water-soluble solids. Trimethylamine "N"-oxide is an osmolyte found in saltwater fishes, sharks, rays, molluscs, and crustaceans. It is considered as a protein stabilizer that may serve to counteract urea, the major osmolyte of sharks, skates and rays. It is also higher in deep-sea
Biological functions of nitric oxide dilates the pulmonary vasculature and, because of efficient scavenging by hemoglobin, has minimal effect on the vasculature of the entire body. Inhaled nitric oxide appears to increase the partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PO) by dilating pulmonary vessels in better-ventilated areas of the lung, moving pulmonary blood flow away from lung segments with low ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) ratios toward segments with normal or better ratios. Nitric oxide is absorbed systemically after inhalation. Most of it moves across the pulmonary capillary bed where it combines with hemoglobin that is 60% to 100% oxygen-saturated. Nitrate has been identified as the predominant nitric oxide