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Updated: May 30, 2026

Large Scale Non-targeted Metabolomic Profiling of Serum by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS)
Published on: March 14, 2013
Xenobiotic metabolomics: major impact on the metabolome
Caroline H Johnson1, Andrew D Patterson, Jeffrey R Idle
1Laboratory of Metabolism, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. caroline.johnson@nih.gov
Abstract:
Xenobiotics are encountered by humans on a daily basis and include drugs, environmental pollutants, cosmetics, and even components of the diet. These chemicals undergo metabolism and detoxication to produce numerous metabolites, some of which have the potential to cause unintended effects such as toxicity. They can also block the action of enzymes or receptors used for endogenous metabolism or affect the efficacy and/or bioavailability of a coadministered drug. Therefore, it is essential to determine the full metabolic effects that these chemicals have on the body. Metabolomics, the comprehensive analysis of small molecules in a biofluid, can reveal biologically relevant perturbations that result from xenobiotic exposure. This review discusses the impact that genetic, environmental, and gut microflora variation has on the metabolome, and how these variables may interact, positively and negatively, with xenobiotic metabolism.
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