Metabolomics (or metabonomics) is metabolite profil- ing, measuring the real outcome of the potential changes suggested by genomics and proteomics. Metabolomics investigates regulation and metabolic fluxes in individual cells or cell types. Metabonomics combines the power of high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance with statistical data analysis of in vivo metabolite patterns. This technique enables rapid screening for xenobiotic toxicity, disease state, drug efficiency, nutritional status and even gene function in the “whole” organism. (Nicholson et al., 2002). This emerging investigative approach is being used to assess the adequacy and safety of xenobiotics, pharmaceutical agents, nutrients and functional phytochemicals (Khandurina and Guttman, 2002; Reo, 2002; Weckwerth, 2003)
