Scalbert Augustin, Brennan Lorraine, Manach Claudine, Andres-Lacueva Cristina, Dragsted Lars O, Draper John, Rappaport Stephen M, van der Hooft Justin J J, Wishart David S
From the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France (AS); University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland (LB); the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Clermont-Ferrand, France (CM); Clermont University, Clermont-Ferrand, France (CM); the University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (CA-L); the University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark (LOD); Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom (JD); the University of California, Berkeley, CA (SMR); the University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom (JJJvdH); and the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (DSW).
Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Jun;99(6):1286-308. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.113.076133. Epub 2014 Apr 23.
The food metabolome is defined as the part of the human metabolome directly derived from the digestion and biotransformation of foods and their constituents. With >25,000 compounds known in various foods, the food metabolome is extremely complex, with a composition varying widely according to the diet. By its very nature it represents a considerable and still largely unexploited source of novel dietary biomarkers that could be used to measure dietary exposures with a high level of detail and precision. Most dietary biomarkers currently have been identified on the basis of our knowledge of food compositions by using hypothesis-driven approaches. However, the rapid development of metabolomics resulting from the development of highly sensitive modern analytic instruments, the availability of metabolite databases, and progress in (bio)informatics has made agnostic approaches more attractive as shown by the recent identification of novel biomarkers of intakes for fruit, vegetables, beverages, meats, or complex diets. Moreover, examples also show how the scrutiny of the food metabolome can lead to the discovery of bioactive molecules and dietary factors associated with diseases. However, researchers still face hurdles, which slow progress and need to be resolved to bring this emerging field of research to maturity. These limits were discussed during the First International Workshop on the Food Metabolome held in Glasgow. Key recommendations made during the workshop included more coordination of efforts; development of new databases, software tools, and chemical libraries for the food metabolome; and shared repositories of metabolomic data. Once achieved, major progress can be expected toward a better understanding of the complex interactions between diet and human health.
食物代谢组被定义为人类代谢组中直接源自食物及其成分的消化和生物转化的部分。各种食物中已知有超过25000种化合物，食物代谢组极其复杂，其组成会因饮食的不同而有很大差异。就其本质而言，它代表了一个相当可观且在很大程度上尚未开发的新型膳食生物标志物来源，这些生物标志物可用于高度详细和精确地测量膳食暴露情况。目前，大多数膳食生物标志物是基于我们对食物成分的了解，采用假设驱动的方法确定的。然而，高灵敏度现代分析仪器的发展、代谢物数据库的可用性以及（生物）信息学的进步推动了代谢组学的快速发展，这使得无假设方法更具吸引力，最近对水果、蔬菜、饮料、肉类或复合饮食摄入量的新型生物标志物的鉴定就证明了这一点。此外，实例还展示了对食物代谢组的详细研究如何能够发现与疾病相关的生物活性分子和膳食因素。然而，研究人员仍然面临障碍，这些障碍减缓了进展，需要加以解决才能使这个新兴的研究领域走向成熟。在格拉斯哥举行的第一届食物代谢组国际研讨会上讨论了这些限制因素。研讨会上提出的主要建议包括加强努力的协调；开发用于食物代谢组的新数据库、软件工具和化学文库；以及共享代谢组学数据存储库。一旦实现这些目标，有望在更好地理解饮食与人类健康之间的复杂相互作用方面取得重大进展。
