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Metabolomics studies the profiles of metabolites in biological samples, including plant tissue. It can help diagnose diseases and monitor health treatments, and is used alongside genomics and proteomics. Two approaches, metabolic profiling and fingerprinting, are used. Metabolomics is expected to produce safer drugs and identify groups that could benefit from them. It will play an important role in systems biology and provide biomarkers for studying disease and toxin exposure.
Metabolomics is a new branch of analytical biochemistry related to metabolism, the process of converting food energy into mechanical energy or heat. The byproducts of metabolism, known as metabolites, are produced in biological samples such as urine, saliva and blood plasma. Metabolomics refers to the study of these profiles of metabolites produced in biological samples. In the case of plant biology, specific tissue samples are used for metabolite profiling. Metabolomics has grown alongside genomics and proteomics since the mid-1990s as a result of the Human Genome Project, a project aimed at mapping the human genetic system.
Cellular activity processes such as cell signaling, energy transfer and cell-cell communication are controlled by metabolites. The metabolome is a collection of all metabolites in a cell at a particular time. Humans have many cell types with different metabolomes, but metabolomics deals with the study of low molecular weight metabolites such as lipids, sugars and amino acids. These are also known as small molecules. Genetic disorders, diseases or environmental disturbances can be explained by the study of changes in the metabolome. So the study of metabolites, i.e. metabolomics, can help diagnose diseases or study the effects of a poisonous substance.
There are two complementary approaches used for metabolomic investigations: metabolic profiling and metabolic fingerprinting. In metabolic profiling, quantitative analytical methods are used to measure the metabolites of a particular class. In metabolic fingerprinting, fingerprints are compared to determine whether metabolites have changed due to disease or exposure to toxins. To make this type of comparison, chromatograms and statistical methods could be used. It is a semi-quantitative method that can actually be applied to a wide range of metabolites. Metabolomics can be studied by a combination of metabolic profiling and fingerprinting.
Researchers expect metabolomics to help healthcare in many ways. It should be able to produce safer drugs and better identify groups of people who could benefit from a drug. Metabolomics can also help diagnose diseases and monitor various health treatments. Integrated with proteomics and genomics, metabolomics is used, for example, to find out why some people are more susceptible to liver damage from certain drugs. The field is expected to play an important role in systems biology in the long term and, in the short term, will provide biomarkers for studying disease and toxin exposure.
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