Nutritional and Food Metabolomics for Health Enhancement

Dear Colleagues,

The steady research progress in physio-metabolic analysis, initiated in the 1940s, has rapidly accelerated in recent times thanks to advances in biomedical-molecular sciences, the development of new chemoinformatics tools (e.g., network pharmacology), and the consolidation of new and improved high-throughput analytical platforms (e.g., GC-MS, LC-MS, NMR, etc.). This has established metabolomics (both targeted and untargeted) as an indispensable strategy for understanding the complex metabolic interactions occurring within an organism. In particular, the quantity and diversity of metabolic products (metabolites)—whether of endogenous or xenobiotic origin—that may be altered in health and disease states, pave the way for new disciplines such as personalized nutrition and precision pharmacology. Furthermore, the application of these diagnostic platforms transcends the biochemical understanding of the metabolic fate of specific chemical compounds; indeed, in this era of artificial intelligence, the field is advancing exponentially through the identification of biomarkers for the timely detection and clinical monitoring of diseases and pharmacological therapies.

The opportunity presented by metabolomics lies in its capacity to address complex health issues through a holistic approach. In academia, it is redefining our understanding of biological networks and paving the way for network pharmacology and precision medicine. In clinical practice, its potential is quite transformative, as new machine learning-trained algorithms applied to the systematic study of metabolomic profiles have succeeded in increasing differential diagnostic accuracy (differentiation between test samples from healthy controls) across countless biomedical application scenarios, some of which are already implemented in clinical settings while others are on the path to implementation. Furthermore, this advancement has significantly boosted not only the generation of new knowledge on the field but also the commercialization of diagnostic platforms based on metabolomic analysis combined with artificial intelligence (e.g., MetaboLM), In fact, data from 2025 has indicated an expanding market value at $4.3 billion (CAGR of 13.3%). Regardless of these positive arguments, significant barriers remain, with metabolite annotation serving as the critical bottleneck. Moreover, clinical implementation brings additional challenges regarding sample collection, quantification, quality control, and data interpretation, underscoring the urgent need for harmonization, standardization, and reproducibility.

This Special Issue in Metabolites aims to present and disseminate the latest advances regarding the innovative application of metabolomics to the study of physiological phenomena, particularly in nutritional sciences, precision medicine, pharmacology, and toxicology. This research may encompass in vitro and ex vivo assays, as well as preclinical and clinical studies. We also invite contributions addressing metabolomic aspects of biological phenomena that hold potential for practical application in improving human health. Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

• [Modeling of pathways and changes in biochemical-metabolic events]
• [Biomarker discovery]
• [Metabolomics + other -omics sciences]
• [Metabolic fate of biotic compounds]
• [Metabolic processes and their regulation]
• [Data analysis strategies]
• [Network pharmacology]
• [Metabolomic nutrition science]

Dr. Abraham Wall Medrano
Dr. Alberto A. Escobar-Puentes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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