Metabonomics in Translational Research for Personalized Medicine and Nutrition

Abstract

Personalized medicine promises prediction, prevention, and treatment of illness that is targeted to individuals’ needs. New technologies for detailed biological profiling of individuals at the molecular level have been crucial in initiating the move to personalized medicine. Metabonomics is promising to contribute significantly to the characterization of various disease phenotypes and to the identification of personal metabolic features that can predict response to therapies. Based on analytical platforms such as mass spectrometry or nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the metabonomic approach enables a comprehensive overview of the metabolites, leading to the characterization of the metabolic profiles of a given sample. These metabolic profiles can then be used to distinguish between different disease phenotypes and to predict a drug’s effectiveness and/or toxicity. Metabonomics has tremendous potential to advance our understanding of human health and disease and to inform the development of personalized approaches to disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.