The following is a summary of “An epidemiological introduction to human metabolomic investigations,” published in the September 2023 issue of Endocrinology and Metabolism by Joshi, et al.
In the study of human epidemiology, metabolomics offers a great chance to shed light on hitherto unexplored aspects of the metabolic processes responsible for illness. It is feasible to assess the concentration of metabolites in a wide variety of biological samples, including plasma, serum, saliva, urine, and feces; it is even possible to estimate the concentration of metabolites in complete organs and tissues.
This provides a framework for describing metabolic processes pertinent to the genesis of the illness and elements of the patient that are of interest. The field of metabolomic epidemiology is faced with several unique challenges, some of which include the following: identifying metabolites from targeted and untargeted assays, defining quality control standards, harmonizing results across platforms, and developing statistical methods for high-dimensional and correlated metabolomic data and identifying metabolites from targeted and untargeted assays.
Defining quality control standards. Harmonizing results across platforms. Determining which metabolites come from targeted and untargeted tests is particularly challenging. This review aims to familiarise the wider scientific community with the field of metabolomic epidemiology, examine the opportunities and challenges presented by these investigations, and highlight upcoming developments that can reveal new insights into biological processes.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1043276023001170