Molecular biology operates at three levels – genes, proteins and metabolites. This book is unique in that it provides a comprehensive description of an approach (metabonomics) to characterise the endogenous metabolites in a living system, complementing gene and protein studies (genomics and proteomics). These "omics" methods form the basis for understanding biology at a systems level. The Handbook of Metabonomics and Metabolomics aims to be the definitive work on the rapidly expanding subjects of metabolic profiling, metabolite and biomarker identification, encompassing the fields of metabonomics and metabolomics. It covers the principles of the subject, the analytical and statistical techniques used and the wide variety of applications. * comprehensive description of an approach (metabonomics) to characterise the endogenous metabolites in a living system, complementing gene and protein studies* aims to be the definitive work on the rapidly expanding subjects of metabolic profiling, metabolite and biomarker identification* covers the principles of the subject, the analytical and statistical techniques used and the wide variety of applications.

This volume on metabonomics provides detailed information on the procedures involved in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GS-MS), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (CE-MS). Chapters focus on technologies and chemometrics, generation of metabonomics data, extraction of meaningful information from data, drug development, toxicology, diagnostics, and describing metabonomics as an essential part of systems biology. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of metabonomics and gut microbiota research from molecular analysis to population-based global health considerations. The topics include the discussion of the applications in relation to metabonomics and gut microbiota in nutritional research, in health and disease and a review of future therapeutical, nutraceutical and clinical applications. It also examines the translatability of systems biology approaches into applied clinical research and to patient health and nutrition. The rise in multifactorial disorders, the lack of understanding of the molecular processes at play and the needs for disease prediction in asymptomatic conditions are some of the many questions that system biology approaches are well suited to address. Achieving this goal lies in our ability to model and understand the complex web of interactions between genetics, metabolism, environmental factors and gut microbiota. Being the most densely populated microbial ecosystem on earth, gut microbiota co-evolved as a key component of human biology, essentially extending the physiological definition of humans. Major advances in microbiome research have shown that the contribution of the intestinal microbiota to the overall health status of the host has been so far underestimated. Human host gut microbial interaction is one of the most significant human health considerations of the present day with relevance for both prevention of disease via microbiota-oriented environmental protection as well as strategies for new therapeutic approaches using microbiota as targets and/or biomarkers. In many aspects, humans are not a complete and fully healthy organism without their appropriate microbiological components. Increasingly, scientific evidence identifies gut microbiota as a key biological interface between human genetics and environmental conditions encompassing nutrition. Microbiota dysbiosis or variation in metabolic activity has been associated with metabolic deregulation (e.g. obesity, inflammatory bowel disease), disease risk factor (e.g. coronary heart disease) and even the aetiology of various pathologies (e.g. autism, cancer), although causal role into impaired metabolism still needs to be established. Metabonomics and Gut Microbiota in Nutrition and Disease serves as a handbook for postgraduate students, researchers in life sciences or health sciences, scientists in academic and industrial environments working in application areas as diverse as health, disease, nutrition, microbial research and human clinical medicine.

In this comprehensive resource the Editor draws together experts from the field and provides an insightful introduction into the technology and methodology.

It is evident that biochemical control is not strictly hierarchical and that intermediary metabolism can contribute to control of regulatory pathways. Metabolic studies are therefore increasingly important in gene function analyses, and an increased interest in metabolites as biomarkers for disease progression or response to therapeutic intervention is also evident in the pharmaceutical industry. This book offers guidelines to currently available technology and bioinformatics and database strategies now being developed. Evidence is presented that metabolic profiling is a valuable addition to genomics and proteomics strategies devoted to drug discovery and development, and that metabolic profiling offers numerous advantages.

The Handbook of Metabolic Phenotyping is the definitive work on the rapidly developing subject of metabolic phenotyping. It explores in detail the wide array of analytical chemistry and statistical modeling techniques used in the field, coupled with surveys of the various application areas in human development, nutrition, disease, therapy, and epidemiology to create a comprehensive exploration of the area of study. It covers recent studies that integrate the various -omics data sets to derive a systems biology view. It also addresses current issues on standardization, assay and statistics validation, and data storage and sharing. Written by experts with many years of practice in the field who pioneered many of the approaches widely used today, The Handbook of Metabolic Phenotyping is a valuable resource for postgrads and research scientists studying and furthering the field of metabolomics. Contains theoretical and practical explanations of all the main analytical chemistry techniques used in metabolic phenotyping Explores, in detail, the many diverse statistical approaches used in the field Offers practical tips for successfully conducting metabolic phenotyping studies Features reviews of all of the various fields of activity relating to human studies

This volume explores the different approaches and techniques used by researchers to study the recent challenges and developments in metabolic profiling. This book is divided into IV parts. Part I contains chapters that highlight basic concepts, such as experimental design, data treatment, metabolite identification, and harmonization. Part II describes experimental protocols for both targeted and untargeted metabolomics covering the basic analytical technologies: LC-MS, GC-MS, NMR and CE-MS. In addition the protocols describe methods for the study of tissues, feces, blood and other types of biological samples as well as the application of chemical derivatization for GC-MS. Parts III and IV present the use of metabolomics in the study of food, plants and the life sciences, with examples from the quest for the discovery of disease biomarkers, physical exercise omics and metabolic profiling of food, fruit and wine. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and thorough, Metabolic Profiling: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for researchers who are interested in expanding their knowledge of this rapidly developing field.