Food Metabolomics Analysis of Curry Using LC/MS/MS

Introduction

In recent years, attention has been focused on the technology of metabolomics, which is defined as the comprehensive analysis of metabolites in vivo. Metabolomics is an academic field that comprehensively analyzes low-molecule metabolites such as amino acids and organic acids generated by the activities of cells to clarify differences among multiple sample groups. It is said that it permits exhaustive analysis more easily than other "omics" because the number of target components is small. Originally, it was a technique that has been developed with the expectation of results in the medical field, for example, in searches for diagnostic markers using clinical samples and etiological analyses using model animals. This analytical method is recently used more and more in the industrial and food fields to make comparisons among the products of different manufacturers, as well as to compare raw materials from different sources. The application of metabolomics not to living organisms but to food as covered here is called "food metabolomics". This article covers an example of food metabolomics where we examined the changes observed when different ingredients are used in curries made in several households, and when a curry is left overnight, by comprehensively analyzing the hydrophilic components of the sauce using a high performance liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer (LC/MS/MS) and conducting verification through multivariate analysis.

August 1, 2019 GMT