Metabolomic Analysis in Food Science

A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Metabolomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2021) | Viewed by 21487

Special Issue Editors

1. Magnetic Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
2. Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
3. Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche MetalloProteine (CIRMMP), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Interests: applications of NMR-based metabolomics in biomedicine and in food science; NMR fingerprinting and profiling of biological samples; development of new analytical approaches for NMR metabolomics; development of new tools for NMR data analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy
Interests: plant physiology; fruit science; postharvest biology and technology; metabolomics and volatolomics; integrated approaches; GC- and LC-MS profiling of biological samples; development of optimized analytical methods for GC-MS applications

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metabolomics is an “-omic” science devoted to the study of the whole set of metabolites (metabolome) in a biological matrix. Because metabolites are the end-products of all cellular activities and their levels in a living organism can change according to genetic or environmental factors, metabolomics could easily provide a global overview of the modifications in a biological system due to the complex interactions between genes and the external environment. The metabolic composition of agricultural products is influenced by several stimuli, including growing conditions such as the chemical composition of soil, irrigation, temperature, altitude, etc. All these factors contribute to the definition of the food phenotype, which is reflected in a specific metabolic fingerprint. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, the main analytical techniques employed to run metabolomic experiments, are reliable tools to analyse the chemical features of foodstuffs and to provide information about the origin, traceability, and authenticity of agricultural products, as well as about their physiological response to handling/storage/processing protocols. Agricultural practices, post-harvest treatments, and food processing have a great impact on the metabolic composition of resulting foods; thus, metabolomics has an emerging role in monitoring the influence of different manufacturing procedures on food quality and food safety. Finally, because the metabolic composition of foodstuffs (e.g., wine, beer, oil, and coffee) is directly connected to the flavors perceived by the consumer, metabolomic analyses can help in deciphering the connection between organoleptic properties and the chemical composition of foods and beverages.

This Special Issue will include original research papers and reviews that address the above-mentioned topics using state-of-the-art metabolomic techniques. Methodological contributions that pursue advancements in metabolomic data acquisition and analysis for food science will be also considered. Conversely, the effects of different foods, diets, and nutritional habits on human physiology are out of the scope of this Issue.

Dr. Leonardo Tenori
Dr. Stefano Brizzolara
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metabolites is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Metabolomics
  • Foodomics
  • Food safety
  • Food quality
  • Food traceability
  • Food authentication
  • Food adulteration
  • Organoleptic properties of foodstuffs
  • Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
  • Mass spectrometry
  • Metabolic fingerprinting
  • Metabolic profiling

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 899 KiB  
Article
Lipidomics-Based Comparison of Molecular Compositions of Green, Yellow, and Red Bell Peppers
by Aimee K. Sutliff, Martine Saint-Cyr, Audrey E. Hendricks, Samuel S. Chen, Katrina A. Doenges, Kevin Quinn, Jamie Westcott, Minghua Tang, Sarah J. Borengasser, Richard M. Reisdorph, Wayne W. Campbell, Nancy F. Krebs and Nichole A. Reisdorph
Metabolites 2021, 11(4), 241; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11040241 - 14 Apr 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2695
Abstract
Identifying and annotating the molecular composition of individual foods will improve scientific understanding of how foods impact human health and how much variation exists in the molecular composition of foods of the same species. The complexity of this task includes distinct varieties and [...] Read more.
Identifying and annotating the molecular composition of individual foods will improve scientific understanding of how foods impact human health and how much variation exists in the molecular composition of foods of the same species. The complexity of this task includes distinct varieties and variations in natural occurring pigments of foods. Lipidomics, a sub-field of metabolomics, has emerged as an effective tool to help decipher the molecular composition of foods. For this proof-of-principle research, we determined the lipidomic profiles of green, yellow and red bell peppers (Capsicum annuum) using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry and a novel tool for automated annotation of compounds following database searches. Among 23 samples analyzed from 6 peppers (2 green, 1 yellow, and 3 red), over 8000 lipid compounds were detected with 315 compounds (106 annotated) found in all three colors. Assessments of relationships between these compounds and pepper color, using linear mixed effects regression and false discovery rate (<0.05) statistical adjustment, revealed 11 compounds differing by color. The compound most strongly associated with color was the carotenoid, β-cryptoxanthin (p-value = 7.4 × 10−5; FDR adjusted p-value = 0.0080). These results support lipidomics as a viable analytical technique to identify molecular compounds that can be used for unique characterization of foods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomic Analysis in Food Science)
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12 pages, 2874 KiB  
Article
Cross-Species Comparison of Metabolomics to Decipher the Metabolic Diversity in Ten Fruits
by Jinwei Qi, Kang Li, Yunxia Shi, Yufei Li, Long Dong, Ling Liu, Mingyang Li, Hui Ren, Xianqing Liu, Chuanying Fang and Jie Luo
Metabolites 2021, 11(3), 164; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11030164 - 12 Mar 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2792
Abstract
Fruits provide humans with multiple kinds of nutrients and protect humans against worldwide nutritional deficiency. Therefore, it is essential to understand the nutrient composition of various fruits in depth. In this study, we performed LC-MS-based non-targeted metabolomic analyses with ten kinds of fruit, [...] Read more.
Fruits provide humans with multiple kinds of nutrients and protect humans against worldwide nutritional deficiency. Therefore, it is essential to understand the nutrient composition of various fruits in depth. In this study, we performed LC-MS-based non-targeted metabolomic analyses with ten kinds of fruit, including passion fruit, mango, starfruit, mangosteen, guava, mandarin orange, grape, apple, blueberry, and strawberry. In total, we detected over 2500 compounds and identified more than 300 nutrients. Although the ten fruits shared 909 common-detected compounds, each species accumulated a variety of species-specific metabolites. Additionally, metabolic profiling analyses revealed a constant variation in each metabolite’s content across the ten fruits. Moreover, we constructed a neighbor-joining tree using metabolomic data, which resembles the single-copy protein-based phylogenetic tree. This indicates that metabolome data could reflect the genetic relationship between different species. In conclusion, our work enriches knowledge on the metabolomics of fruits, and provides metabolic evidence for the genetic relationships among these fruits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomic Analysis in Food Science)
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17 pages, 1982 KiB  
Article
Identification of Quinone Degradation as a Triggering Event for Intense Pulsed Light-Elicited Metabolic Changes in Escherichia coli by Metabolomic Fingerprinting
by Qingqing Mao, Juer Liu, Justin R. Wiertzema, Dongjie Chen, Paul Chen, David J. Baumler, Roger Ruan and Chi Chen
Metabolites 2021, 11(2), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11020102 - 10 Feb 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2858
Abstract
Intense pulsed light (IPL) is becoming a new technical platform for disinfecting food against pathogenic bacteria. Metabolic changes are deemed to occur in bacteria as either the causes or the consequences of IPL-elicited bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects. However, little is known about the [...] Read more.
Intense pulsed light (IPL) is becoming a new technical platform for disinfecting food against pathogenic bacteria. Metabolic changes are deemed to occur in bacteria as either the causes or the consequences of IPL-elicited bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects. However, little is known about the influences of IPL on bacterial metabolome. In this study, the IPL treatment was applied to E. coli K-12 for 0–20 s, leading to time- and dose-dependent reductions in colony-forming units (CFU) and morphological changes. Both membrane lipids and cytoplasmic metabolites of the control and IPL-treated E. coli were examined by the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based metabolomic fingerprinting. The results from multivariate modeling and marker identification indicate that the metabolites in electron transport chain (ETC), redox response, glycolysis, amino acid, and nucleotide metabolism were selectively affected by the IPL treatments. The time courses and scales of these metabolic changes, together with the biochemical connections among them, revealed a cascade of events that might be initiated by the degradation of quinone electron carriers and then followed by oxidative stress, disruption of intermediary metabolism, nucleotide degradation, and morphological changes. Therefore, the degradations of membrane quinones, especially the rapid depletion of menaquinone-8 (MK-8), can be considered as a triggering event in the IPL-elicited metabolic changes in E. coli. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomic Analysis in Food Science)
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16 pages, 10218 KiB  
Article
Quantitative Analysis of Biogenic Amines in Different Cheese Varieties Obtained from the Korean Domestic and Retail Markets
by Sujatha Kandasamy, Jayeon Yoo, Jeonghee Yun, Han Byul Kang, Kuk-Hwan Seol and Jun-Sang Ham
Metabolites 2021, 11(1), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11010031 - 04 Jan 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2482
Abstract
To evaluate the safety and risk assessment of cheese consumption in the Republic of Korea, sixty cheese samples purchased from the farmstead and retails markets (imported) were analyzed for their biogenic amine (BA) contents. The BA profiles and quantities of eight amines (tryptamine, [...] Read more.
To evaluate the safety and risk assessment of cheese consumption in the Republic of Korea, sixty cheese samples purchased from the farmstead and retails markets (imported) were analyzed for their biogenic amine (BA) contents. The BA profiles and quantities of eight amines (tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, tyramine, spermidine, and spermine) were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Spermine was the only amine detectable in all the samples. The BAs of fresh cheeses from both farmstead and retail markets were mostly undetectable, and comparatively at lower levels (<125 mg/kg) than ripened samples. Putrescine was undetectable in all the domestic ripened cheeses. The sum of BA levels in the imported ripened cheeses of Pecorino Romano (1889.75 mg/kg) and Grana Padano (1237.80 mg/kg) exceeds >1000 mg/kg, of which histamine accounts nearly 86 and 77% of the total levels, respectively. The tolerable limits of the potential toxic amines, histamine and tyramine surpassed in four and three imported ripened samples, respectively. Furthermore, the presence of potentiators (putrescine and cadaverine) together in samples even with a lower level of toxic amines alarms the risk in consumption. Therefore, adoption of strict hygienic practices during the entire chain of cheese production, along with obligatory monitoring and regulation of BA in cheeses seems to be mandatory to ensure the safety of the consumers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomic Analysis in Food Science)
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18 pages, 3116 KiB  
Article
Integrative Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal Metabolic Changes and Its Molecular Basis in Rice Mutants of the Strigolactone Pathway
by Xiujuan Zhou, Ling Liu, Yufei Li, Kang Li, Xiaoli Liu, Junjie Zhou, Chenkun Yang, Xianqing Liu, Chuanying Fang and Jie Luo
Metabolites 2020, 10(11), 425; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo10110425 - 26 Oct 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2654
Abstract
Plants have evolved many metabolites to meet the demands of growth and adaptation. Although strigolactones (SLs) play vital roles in controlling plant architecture, their function in regulating plant metabolism remains elusive. Here we report the integrative metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses of two rice [...] Read more.
Plants have evolved many metabolites to meet the demands of growth and adaptation. Although strigolactones (SLs) play vital roles in controlling plant architecture, their function in regulating plant metabolism remains elusive. Here we report the integrative metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses of two rice SL mutants, d10 (a biosynthesis mutant) and d14 (a perception mutant). Both mutants displayed a series of metabolic and transcriptional alterations, especially in the lipid, flavonoid, and terpenoid pathways. Levels of several diterpenoid phytoalexins were substantially increased in d10 and d14, together with the induction of terpenoid gene cluster and the corresponding upstream transcription factor WRKY45, an established determinant of plant immunity. The fact that WRKY45 is a target of IPA1, which acted as a downstream transcription factor of SL signaling, suggests that SLs contribute to plant defense through WRKY45 and phytoalexins. Moreover, our data indicated that SLs may modulate rice metabolism through a vast number of clustered or tandemly duplicated genes. Our work revealed a central role of SLs in rice metabolism. Meanwhile, integrative analysis of the metabolome and transcriptome also suggested that SLs may contribute to metabolite-associated growth and defense. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomic Analysis in Food Science)
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16 pages, 3580 KiB  
Article
An NMR Metabolomics Approach to Investigate Factors Affecting the Yoghurt Fermentation Process and Quality
by Alessia Trimigno, Christian Bøge Lyndgaard, Guðrún Anna Atladóttir, Violetta Aru, Søren Balling Engelsen and Line Katrine Harder Clemmensen
Metabolites 2020, 10(7), 293; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo10070293 - 17 Jul 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3739
Abstract
A great number of factors can influence milk fermentation for yoghurt production such as fermentation conditions, starter cultures and milk characteristics. It is important for dairy companies to know the best combinations of these parameters for a controlled fermentation and for the desired [...] Read more.
A great number of factors can influence milk fermentation for yoghurt production such as fermentation conditions, starter cultures and milk characteristics. It is important for dairy companies to know the best combinations of these parameters for a controlled fermentation and for the desired qualities of yoghurt. This study investigates the use of a 1H-NMR metabolomics approach to monitor the changes in milk during fermentation from time 0 to 24 h, taking samples every hour in the first 8 h and then at the end-point at 24 h. Three different starter cultures (L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus and their combination) were used and two different heat treatments (99 or 105 °C) were applied to milk. The results clearly show the breakdown of proteins and lactose as well as the concomitant increase in acetate, lactate and citrate during fermentation. Formate is found at different initial concentrations depending on the heat treatment of the milk and its different time trajectory depends on the starter cultures: Lactobacillus cannot produce formate, but needs it for growth, whilst Streptococcus is able to produce formate from pyruvate, therefore promoting the symbiotic relationship between the two strains. On the other hand, Lactobacillus can hydrolyze milk proteins into amino acids, enriching the quality of the final product. In this way, better insight into the protocooperation of lactic acid bacteria strains and information on the impact of a greater heat treatment in the initial matrix were obtained. The global chemical view on the fermentations provided using NMR is key information for yoghurt producers and companies producing starter cultures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomic Analysis in Food Science)
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Review

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21 pages, 315 KiB  
Review
Postharvest Water Loss of Wine Grape: When, What and Why
by Chiara Sanmartin, Margherita Modesti, Francesca Venturi, Stefano Brizzolara, Fabio Mencarelli and Andrea Bellincontro
Metabolites 2021, 11(5), 318; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11050318 - 14 May 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2792
Abstract
In postharvest science, water loss is always considered a negative factor threatening fruit and vegetable quality, but in the wine field, this physical process is employed to provide high-quality wine, such as Amarone and Passito wines. The main reason for this is the [...] Read more.
In postharvest science, water loss is always considered a negative factor threatening fruit and vegetable quality, but in the wine field, this physical process is employed to provide high-quality wine, such as Amarone and Passito wines. The main reason for this is the significant metabolic changes occurring during wine grape water loss, changes that are highly dependent on the specific water loss rate and level, as well as the ambient conditions under which grapes are kept to achieve dehydration. In this review, hints on the main techniques used to induce postharvest wine grape water loss and information on the most important metabolic changes occurring in grape berries during water loss are reported. The quality of wines produced from dried/dehydrated/withered grapes is also discussed, together with an update on the application of innovative non-destructive techniques in the wine sector. A wide survey of the scientific papers published all over the world on the topic has been carried out. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomic Analysis in Food Science)
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