Metabolomics

Metabolomics is a field of research that focuses on the chemical processes undergone by metabolites. It involves the use of sophisticated analytical technologies to identify and quantify cellular metabolites, in addition to the extraction of relevant information so that the data can be interpreted and applied in a practical setting.

Applications of Metabolomics

The field of metabolomics has the potential to be applied in a number of settings to offer practical use. It remains a relatively young field of research and, therefore many of its applications of metabolomics are still only becoming evident. Nonetheless, this article covers some of the present and future ways in which metabolomics could be applied.

The Metabolome: An Overview

Metabolomic Profiling for Disease Diagnosis

Analyzing Metabolomics Data

Techniques Used in Targeted Metabolomic Profiling

Metabolomic Profiling of Ricin

What are Metabolites?

Challenges in Targeted Metabolomics

Metabolomics in Clinical Chemistry

Metabolomics in Plants

Lipid Metabolism and the Gut Microbiota

Targeted Metabolomics

See more featured articles »

Metabolomics in Organ Transplantation

Metabolic Changes in Aging Cells

History of Metabolomics

Metabolomic Profiling of an Ancient Herbal Medicine using UHPLC

Metabolomics in Pharmacology

Latest Metabolomics News and Research

Probiotic metabolite found to suppress melanoma tumor growth in mice

Immune checkpoint inhibitors like anti-PD-1 have transformed melanoma treatment, yet more than half of patients fail to respond or eventually develop resistance.

30 Jun 2026

Fourier 80: bringing benchtop NMR systems to the laboratory

Benchtop NMR puts nuclear magnetic resonance on the lab bench, supporting teaching, QC, reaction monitoring, and materials research.

From Bruker BioSpin Group 30 Jun 2026

Blood metabolism maps how lifestyle tracks function in cognitive aging

A new study used pathway-level blood metabolomics to identify lifestyle-associated metabolic patterns linked to physical, cognitive, and daily functional performance across CN, MCI, and AD. The findings suggest that diet- and activity-linked pathway signals span energy, amino acid, lipid, inflammatory, oxidative stress, and microbiome-related metabolism, but require independent and longitudinal validation.

29 Jun 2026

Faster biological aging may help explain rising cancer rates in younger adults

A new study found that later birth cohorts showed greater biological aging, measured by systemic age-gap clocks. Greater biological aging was associated with higher early-onset solid cancer risk, especially lung, gastrointestinal, and uterine cancers.

29 Jun 2026

Biognosys showcases next-gen multiomics innovations at ASMS 2026

The Biognosys Group, a leader in mass spectrometry-based multiomics, announces advancements across its integrated multiomics portfolio, highlighting next-generation software, sample preparation, enrichment, and separation technologies for proteomics and metabolomics.

From Biognosys 26 Jun 2026

New protocol identifies sperm biomarkers to diagnose male infertility

Researchers from the EHU-University of the Basque Country have developed a robust protocol to detect the molecules involved in the metabolic reactions of sperm.

26 Jun 2026

Scientists map blood chemistry links to hundreds of diseases

A UK Biobank study of nearly 390,000 people mapped 251 NMR-derived plasma metabolic traits against hundreds of health traits, prevalent diseases, and future disease outcomes. The atlas revealed tens of thousands of replicated associations, showed stronger prediction for selected short-term and cardiometabolic outcomes, and identified putative causal links that may guide future precision medicine research.

24 Jun 2026

Natural molecule erucamide helps slow progressive retinal degeneration

Many conditions that cause vision loss share a common feature: the gradual breakdown of the retina, the light-sensing tissue at the back of the eye.

22 Jun 2026

Breast milk nutrient boosts long-term immune system development

Trans-vaccenic acid (TVA), the most abundant trans fatty acid found in human breast milk, helps boost immune system development and has long-lasting effects on immune system health in mice, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Chicago.

18 Jun 2026

Saliva biomarkers can directly detect acute sleep deprivation

A research team at the University of Zurich (UZH) has discovered biomarkers of sleep loss in saliva. Acute sleep deprivation can be detected using just a single saliva sample.

12 Jun 2026

Popular supplement creatine supercharges critical immune cells fighting cancer

Creatine, the organic acid that is popularly taken as a supplement by athletes and bodybuilders, supercharges a critical class of immune cells that activate and prepare the body's key cancer-fighters, according to new UCLA research.

5 Jun 2026

Untargeted metabolomics approach identifies potential biomarkers for latent tuberculosis diagnosis

Announcing a new article publication in BIO Integration. Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is difficult to diagnose due to the lack of a definitive gold standard.

5 Jun 2026

Understanding mitochondrial biology in alcohol-associated liver disease and cancer

For decades, giant mitochondria-known as megamitochondria-have been recognized in liver biopsies from patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD).

1 Jun 2026

Retatrutide reshapes metabolism in obesity and type 2 diabetes, study finds

Retatrutide altered circulating metabolites and lipids linked to fatty acid oxidation and insulin resistance in people with obesity, with or without type 2 diabetes. These biomarker changes suggest improved metabolic health, but the post-hoc analysis remains hypothesis-generating and does not prove direct clinical benefit.

26 May 2026

Blood carotenoids offer the clearest signal of fruit and vegetable eating habits

The review finds that several candidate biomarkers may help estimate fruit and vegetable intake more objectively than self-reported dietary tools, but most remain limited by specificity, sampling burden, supplement use, or incomplete validation. Blood and skin carotenoids appear strongest for habitual intake, while vitamin C, folate, urinary flavonoids, hippuric acid, and potassium may be more useful for short-term intake or intervention adherence.

24 May 2026

The Goldilocks sleep zone: study links too little and too much sleep to biological aging

The Nature study introduces “Sleep Chart,” a framework linking self-reported sleep duration with 23 biological aging clocks derived from MRI, plasma proteomics, and metabolomics. Across UK Biobank participants, the lowest biological age gaps generally appeared between 6.4 and 7.8 hours of sleep, while shorter and longer sleep were associated with higher disease and mortality risk.

14 May 2026

Gut microbes may reveal why diabetes raises heart disease risk

Integrated gut microbiome and plasma metabolomics profiling identified distinct microbial and metabolic signatures in people with T2DM and T2DM-CAD. In a small exploratory cohort, Bacteroides sp._CAG_875 and 12-ketoLCA emerged as candidate markers that may help distinguish diabetic patients with coronary complications, pending larger validation.

13 May 2026

Researchers uncover sex-specific metabolic patterns in ocular tissues

As a highly differentiated sensory organ, the maintenance of the eye's physiological functions relies on rigorous metabolic regulation.

11 May 2026

The BHARAT study: India’s first large-scale search for aging biomarkers

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on April 24, 2026, titled "The BHARAT study: a multi-modal, multi-omics investigation of aging signatures in the Indian population."

8 May 2026

Natural compound obakulactone shows therapeutic potential for rheumatoid arthritis

A new study published in Engineering reveals that obakulactone (OL), a natural tetracyclic triterpenoid isolated from Phellodendri cortex, exerts a therapeutic effect on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by promoting the degradation of acyl coenzyme A thioesterase 1 (ACOT1) via the ubiquitin‒proteasome pathway and restoring the homeostasis of unsaturated fatty acids.

25 Apr 2026