Metabolomics in nutrition research – a powerful window into nutritional metabolism

Metabolomics is the study of small molecules present in biological samples. In recent years it has become evident that such small molecules, called metabolites, play a key role in the development of disease states. Furthermore, metabolomic applications can reveal information about alterations in certain metabolic pathways under different conditions. Data acquisition in metabolomics is usually performed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based approaches or mass spectrometry (MS)-based approaches with a more recent trend including the application of multiple platforms in order to maximise the coverage in terms of metabolites measured. The application of metabolomics is rapidly increasing and the present review will highlight applications in nutrition research.