Metabolomics and its application in fermented foods

In food science, metabolomics has been emerged as a powerful multidisciplinary omics approach for investigating the metabolic profiles of a given system for characterizing the differential chemical space in food processes. Furthermore, metabolomics can provide insights into metabolic changes in a system, which occur due to process modifications, food- and nutrient-intakes, or underlying diseases. Such knowledge would aid in understanding the complex interactions between diet, human, and animal subjects. Analytical techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry coupled with chemometrics tools have been used to provide adequate selectivity and sensitivity to cover a wide range of metabolites in food under different areas of food science. This chapter thus provides an overview of the application of food metabolomics in fermented foods using existing studies presented in the literature for reviewing its prospects and use for fermented foods. Metabolomics is indeed a desirable approach for providing better understanding on the multifunctionality and complexities of fermented foods; however, the potential for those products yet needs to be studied.