Advances in Food Analysis | Exploring the Driving Factors Behind Personalized Nutrition Advances

Advances in Food Analysis :  Exploring the Driving Factors Behind Personalized Nutrition Advances

Advances in Food Analysis | Exploring the Driving Factors Behind Personalized Nutrition Advances

Introduction:

The field of food analysis is constantly evolving, focusing on developing more efficient, sensitive, and cost-effective techniques to ensure food safety, quality, and traceability. 

This article delves into the driving factors that are increasing concerns and advances in personalized nutrition.

Advances in Food Analytics:

Food analysis has become crucial in the modern global food distribution system. It's used not only for new product development and quality control but also for regulatory enforcement and solving food-related issues. 

With a growing interest in improving health and achieving a disease-free life through functional foods and nutraceuticals, there's a rising demand for understanding the health-related properties of foods.

Different Techniques for Food Analysis:

Various techniques are employed for analyzing food components. These techniques include spectroscopy (such as mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and fluorescence spectroscopy), chromatography (like high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography), biological methods (such as polymerase chain reaction), and immunological techniques (including enzyme immunoassay and chemiluminescence immunoassay).

Sample Preparation Techniques:

Sample preparation is a fundamental step in developing new analytical methods. Researchers are focusing on developing sophisticated techniques to reduce the use of solvents, minimize waste generation, and improve analyte isolation. 

Techniques like molecularly imprinted polymers, monoliths, immune affinity column clean-up, solid-phase micro extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, and liquid phase micro extraction are being explored.

Green Sample Preparation Techniques:

Efforts are being made to develop greener sample preparation methods. Processes like supercritical fluid extraction and subcritical water extraction are gaining traction for their selectivity, shorter extraction times, and environmental friendliness.

Recent Advances:

Recent developments in food analysis have been fueled by advancements in molecular methods, DNA-based techniques for detecting bacteria, microbial composition, and genetically engineered crops. 

Biosensors are also playing a crucial role in detecting food components, contaminants, toxins, and more. Peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-based technologies are being used for food authentication and analysis.

The Rise of "Foodomics" and Personalized Nutrition:

In the post-genomic era, terms like "foodomics," "personalized nutrition," and "nutrigenomics" have emerged. These concepts incorporate advanced omics techniques (epigenomics, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) to improve public health, well-being, and knowledge in the field of food analysis.

Conclusion:

Advancements in food analytics, sample preparation techniques, and the incorporation of omics tools are driving the field of personalized nutrition. The quest to understand the intricate aspects of food components and their effects on health is at the forefront of modern food analysis.

Content source courtesy:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7217104