Practical examples of innovative NMR approaches to food analysis

NMR spectroscopy is currently one of the key methods for food characterisation. Foodstuff is a complex matrix including many different compounds with different chemical structures, concentrations, solubility, properties and nutritional values. Each food type contains primary and secondary metabolites. Primary metabolites, i.e. organic acids, amino acids and sugars, involved in the basic functions of the living cell are ubiquitous although they are present in different species at different concentrations. Secondary metabolites such as phenolic compounds, terpenes and sterols are specific to food type and can be considered markers of the product. Together with primary metabolites, they are important from a nutritional point of view. NMR methodology enables primary and secondary metabolites to be identified and quantified, bringing high-throughput spectroscopic / structural information on a wide range of metabolites simultaneously with high precision.