Chapter 16: Nutrimetabolomics: Concepts and Applications

Nutrimetabolomics refers to the application of metabolomics technologies to nutritional research. This chapter provides a conceptual overview, illustrated by examples, of nutrimetabolomics studies that investigate the effects of dietary compounds, foods and dietary patterns on human metabolism and health. The various designs used in human nutrimetabolomics studies are presented, followed by a description of the dietary systems tested in these studies. Then, the applications of nutrimetabolomics are reviewed, including the characterisation of the clinical indications affected by nutrition, the elucidation of the mechanisms of action involved in these indications and the identification and validation of biomarkers of dietary intake. The chapter concludes with a description of the instrumental environment used in nutrimetabolomics.