The metabolomics approach is widespread and accepted in several lines within life sciences. However, much of what has been called metabolomics could be better defined as a comparison study, regardless of its purpose. Metabolomics finds its definition in the understanding of biological properties and effects on a given organism. In any case, the tools used in metabolomics are undoubtfully useful and should be used in natural products studies, both those already established and those that are under development. Natural products research is in a continuous process of evolution to become a discipline driven by multivariate data with a solid influence of “omic” technologies.
Keywords:
metabolomics; natural products; statistics; compound identification