Metabolomics

Metabolomics is the systematic study of chemical process that involve metabolites which are the byproducts of metabolism in organisms. Typically, a metabolite is a small molecule. There are primary metabolites which are involved in growth, reproduction and development. There are also secondary metabolites that, while not involved directly in the processes primary metabolites participate in, but do possess an important ecological function. Examples of secondary metabolites are antibiotics and pigments.

Metabolomics is an important process in understanding how the cell works because it can provide consistent information on the physiology of a cell. Physiology is how something works. So, the anatomy would be the cell made up of mitochondria, the nuclear and the Golgi apparatus. However, the physiology is how those components actually work in the cell. In the past, the only way to understand anything about the processes of the cell was to use messenger RNA (mRNA). The issue with that was that it typically only gave bits and pieces of the total process. With the onset of metabolomics, scientists have been able to profile the metabolic process which can give a snapshot of the cell physiology.

The ultimate purpose of metabolomics, though, is to detect and quantify different metabolites. By using nuclear magnetic resonance, scientists are able to view images that are incredibly small (the average metabolite is smaller than 1 kDa).

Metabonomics

While metabolomics continues to be researched, another field of research is being developed known as metabonomics. Metabonomics is the study of how the biological system changes when it is stressed with different stimuli such as disease, dietary change or toxic exposure. What scientists are hoping to determine is what is happening at a cellular level when the body is sick or suffering from some sort of a poison. By understanding this, the hope is that they'll be able to develop more effective treatments that can work at the cellular level rather than the systematic level.

The current research going on is the Human Metabolome Project. In 2007, scientists at the University of Alberta in Canada calculated a rough first draft of the human metabolome. Their research consisted of a database that held information on 2500 metabolites, 1200 drugs and 3500 food products. By understanding the human's metabolome, scientists can work more effectively on creating different types of drugs.