NMR Metabolomics in Livestock: An Update of Current Methods and Applications

As the global population increases, the livestock sector will face immense challenges to meet the demand for animal products. A more comprehensive, molecular-level understanding of livestock metabolism and physiology is essential to provide the key insights needed to enhance livestock productivity and health. In this regard, metabolomics, especially Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics, offers a superb way to gain molecular-level understanding. NMR allows non-destructive analysis of biological samples without derivatization or chromatographic separation. Its high level of automation facilitates high-throughput analysis with minimal manual effort and very modest costs. Despite some limitations in sensitivity and sample volume requirements, NMR's exceptional reproducibility ensures consistent results across various experiments and laboratories. This chapter provides a comprehensive guide on preparing livestock samples from diverse biofluids and tissues for NMR analysis. It details the procedures for obtaining high-quality NMR spectra and describes spectral profiling techniques to identify and quantify water-soluble metabolites, leveraging metabolomics to enhance livestock productivity and health.