Fig. 8

Identification of metabolites using Sparse multilevel partial least squares-discriminant analysis (smPLS-DA). A bi-dimensional score plot is shown on the left panel. The score plot reveals the distinct blood metabolomic profile between pre- (red dots) and post-supplementation (green dots) paired participants. The two principal components of the smPLS-DA model along with their corresponding variance in group discrimination are shown on y- and x-axes, respectively. The loading plot representing the top 10 metabolites selected on the first component of the smPLS-DA model is shown on the right. Horizontal bars represent the loading weights of each metabolite. Most important metabolites in group discrimination are ordered according to their loading weights, from bottom to top. Bar colour represents either an increase following supplementation (green bars) or decrease following supplementation (red bars). TG triglyceride, Cer ceramide, DG diacylglycerol, SM sphingolipid, Orn ornithine