Research in Nutrition, Health, Metabolomics, and Exposome
Our research aims to identify nutritional biomarkers associated with healthy dietary patterns through the study of metabolomics and the identification of metabotypes, nutritypes, and phenotypes related to frailty and healthy aging, in order to prevent the early onset of diseases and disabilities.
The group’s research adheres to the FAIR Principles—Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (Wilkinson et al., 2016).
Characterization of the human exposome through a large-scale, comprehensive, and quantitative multi-analytical metabolomics platform
Our research group has developed Exposome-UB, a cutting-edge, large-scale, and quantitative metabolomics platform designed to comprehensively characterize the human exposome. This methodology enables the simultaneous profiling of nearly 2,000 metabolites, covering:
- Endogenous metabolites
- Food-derived compounds
- Pharmaceuticals and their metabolites
- Household and personal care product residues
- Environmental pollutants
- Microbiota-derived bioactives
Published in Analytical Chemistry (2020), this methodology was recognized as Research Article of the Year 2021 by the American Chemical Society and by leading journals including the International Journal of Obesity, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, and Analytical Chemistry.
Its clinical relevance and translational potential have been validated in multiple studies, including dietary intervention trials and cohort-based applications in the fields of cardiometabolic health, frailty and healthy aging, and obesity (doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c02008 ; doi: 10.1038/s41366-020-0628-1 ; doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b07023).
Innovation in Clinical Metabolomics: Development of the Clinical Biomarkers Platform
In collaboration with the Metabolomics Innovation Centre (TMIC Wishart Node) and the University of Alberta, we have developed an innovative metabolomics panel capable of quantifying over 700 metabolites in serum and plasma, essential for clinical research and biomarker discovery.
The MEGA assay employs liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, ensuring high precision and comprehensive metabolite coverage.
RESEARCH LINES
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Study of nutritional biomarkers associated with dietary patterns, polyphenols and bioactive compounds, metabotypes and disease risk phenotypes.
The development of new lifestyle biomarkers, including nutritional or dietary exposure markers, helps us understand the role of diet in the development and/or prevention of diseases.
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Development of food composition tables of bioactive components of interest in nutritional epidemiology.
The bioactive compounds in foods are non-nutritional constituents present in small amounts that can provide health benefits. Incorporating these compounds into dietary recommendations represents a scientific advancement in evidence-based nutrition.
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Development of databases of biomarkers of intake and biomarkers of disease risk by metabolomics approach.
The consumption of foods rich in phytochemicals has been associated with the prevention of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in various populations.
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Standardization of metabolomic analysis protocols in biological samples.
To ensure the quality of metabolomic data, our group is conducting various experiments and developing bioinformatics tools to standardize different steps of the metabolomic workflow.
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Bioinformatics tools for biological interpretation and visualization.
See moreOur group has developed tools such as the Food-Biomarker Ontology (FOBI), the first ontology designed to integrate metabolomics and nutrition data, and POMAShiny.
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Precision and personalized nutrition by studying the effects of dietary patterns and the role of the microbiota-gut-organs axis in healthy aging.
Precision nutrition approaches consider various factors, including genetics, gender, environmental characteristics (e.g., dietary habits, eating behavior, and physical activity), microbiota, and metabolome. The key challenge is to characterize phenotypic differences between individuals that contribute to health status.
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Scientific evaluation of food, nutrition, and health messages present in society, and the development of a resource for informed decision-making based on scientific evidence.
A research line led by Dr. Montse Rabassa aims to combat misinformation in nutrition and health by providing reliable and accessible content. This initiative empowers women at different life stages, helping them make informed, evidence-based decisions about their diet and well-being.
Clinical Studies
Clinical studies are essential to advance the understanding of disease development and to promote research on new treatments based on nutrition and precision medicine.
We work with biological samples such as blood, urine, and stool, both in observational and interventional studies, and thanks to targeted metabolomics and exposome analysis, we can identify, quantify, and analyze up to 1,300 health biomarkers.
Discover the published papers by the group
Quantitative targeted metabolomic panels for exposome, environment, nutritional, gut microbiota & clinical biomarker analysis
The group has developed two panels—MEGA-UB and EXPOSOME-UB—that enable the absolute quantification up to 2,000 metabolites, making this the most comprehensive quantitative targeted metabolomics study to date. These panels support specific research questions in precision medicine, nutrition, and exposome studies, using minimal volumes of biospecimen samples (less than 100 μL).
In-house Software Development
Our group has developed tools such as Food-Biomarker Ontology (FOBI) (Castellano-Escuder P, et al., 2020), the first ontology designed to integrate metabolomics and nutrition data, and POMAShiny (Castellano-Escuder P, et al., 2021), which provides:
- Univariate and multivariate statistical methods
- Dimensionality reduction techniques
- Feature selection approaches
- Regularized regression analysis
- Machine learning classification algorithms
- Predictive modeling strategies
- High-quality interactive visualization options
In line with FAIR principles, both the source code and data files are available in public repositories on GitHub.
Polyphenol Intake Assessment
Thanks to the research developed by the group, we have developed a patented software tool for quantifying the total intake, classes, subclasses, and individual intake of dietary polyphenols.
The application is primarily designed for research studies requiring polyphenol intake quantification, but it is also useful for developing new products in the food industry, as well as for healthcare professionals who need to measure polyphenol intake in the diet.
How can we help you?
Department of Nutrition, Food Science, and Gastronomy
Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, INSA-UB
University of Barcelona
Diagonal Campus
Avda. Joan XXIII, 27-31, Building B
08028 – Barcelona