The role of metabolomics in characterizing the human exposome

 “…[the exposome concept] represents a paradigm shift in molecular epidemiology/environmental toxicology, with the focus on complex human exposure profiles (‘top-down’), rather than on individual chemical exposures (‘bottom-up’).” In this commentary, the potential of metabolomics/metabonomics/metabolic profiling (summarized in [1]) as a key platform for contributing to exposome studies is discussed. An overview of the exposome concept and recent developments is provided, alongside a brief summary of the technological platforms that currently underpin metabolic profiling. The article concludes with a personal perspective on the short- and medium-term challenges faced by those in the metabolic profiling community addressing the area of exposome science....