Metabolomics enables valuable information about the biochemical composition of foods to be rapidly obtained. Since the biochemical profile of food largely determines key food properties such as flavor and shelf life, the information gained using metabolomics-based methods will enable greater control of food quality. Metabolomics analysis of human biofluids also helps determine the relationship between diet and health. This book provides an overview of the current and potential use of metabolomics in the food industry.
Part one reviews equipment, methods, and data interpretation in metabolomics including the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), statistical methods in metabolomics, and metabolic reconstruction databases and their application to metabolomics research. Chapters in part two discuss metabolomics in nutrition, human samples for health assessments, and current methods for the analysis of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and their novel applications. The chapters also highlight metabolomic analysis of plants and crops, metabolomics for the safety assessment of genetically modified (GM) crops, and applications of metabolomics in food science including food composition and quality, sensory and nutritional attributes.