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## IntechOpen Book Series Biochemistry Volume 16

Prof. Wael N. Hozzein is a professor of microbiology at the Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Egypt. He received his PhD from Cairo University, Egypt, in 2003, and then worked as a visiting scientist at Newcastle University, UK, and Michigan State University, USA. Recently, he worked as the chair professor of the Bioproducts Research Chair at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. He has vast experience in the field of bacterial taxonomy

with research interests in microbial biodiversity and applications. Prof. Hozzein is the author of more than 140 publications and a guest editor and reviewer for several international journals. Additionally, he has been involved in many academic activities and educational reform projects and initiatives. He has been the principal investigator for several funded grants and has also received several awards, for example the State Encouragement Prize in Biological Sciences for 2015, Egypt.

#### **Editor of Volume 16:**

**Wael N. Hozzein**

Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt

**Book Series Editor: Miroslav Blumenberg** NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, USA

### Scope of the Series

Biochemistry, the study of chemical transformations occurring within living organisms, impacts all of life sciences, from molecular crystallography and genetics, to ecology, medicine and population biology. Biochemistry studies macromolecules proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and lipids –their building blocks, structures, functions and interactions. Much of biochemistry is devoted to enzymes, proteins that catalyze chemical reactions, enzyme structures, mechanisms of action and their roles within cells. Biochemistry also studies small signaling molecules, coenzymes, inhibitors, vitamins and hormones, which play roles in the life process. Biochemical experimentation, besides coopting the methods of classical chemistry, e.g., chromatography, adopted new techniques, e.g., X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, NMR, radioisotopes, and developed sophisticated microbial genetic tools, e.g., auxotroph mutants and their revertants, fermentation etc. More recently, biochemistry embraced the 'big data' omics systems.

Initial biochemical studies have been exclusively analytic: dissecting, purifying and examining individual components of a biological system; in exemplary words of Efraim Racker, (1913 - 1991) "Don't waste clean thinking on dirty enzymes." Today however, biochemistry is becoming more agglomerative and comprehensive, setting out to integrate and describe fully a particular biological system. The "big data" metabolomics can define the complement of small molecules, e.g., in a soil or biofilm sample; proteomics can distinguish all the proteins comprising e.g., serum; metagenomics can identify all the genes in a complex environment e.g., bovine rumen. This Biochemistry Series will address both the current research on biomolecules, and the emerging trends with great promise.

Contents

**Section 1**

**Section 2**

of Pathology

Perspective

*by Elizabeth R. Lusczek*

Biosurfactants from Marine Microorganisms

*Juan Vázquez-Martínez and Mercedes G. López*

from Other Critical Illness Conditions

*by Rosanna Floris, Carmen Rizzo and Angelina Lo Giudice*

*by Alicia Huazano-García, Horacio Claudio Morales-Torres,* 

Fecal Metabolomics Insights of Agavins Intake in Overweight Mice

Metabolomic Discovery of Microbiota Dysfunction as the Cause

*by Natalia V. Beloborodova, Andrey V. Grechko and Andrey Yu Olenin*

Serum Metabolomics as a Powerful Tool in Distinguishing Trauma

Chinese Medicines for Cancer Treatment from the Metabolomics

*by Wei Guo, Hor-Yue Tan, Ning Wang and Yibin Feng*

**Preface XI**

Metabolomics: New Insights into Biology **1**

**Chapter 1 3**

**Chapter 2 19**

Metabolomics: New Insights into Medicine **37**

**Chapter 3 39**

**Chapter 4 61**

**Chapter 5 73**

## Contents


Preface

Metabolomics is a rapidly evolving branch of the "omics technologies," which involves quantitative and qualitative metabolite assessments. Metabolomics comprises analytical techniques that can be used for metabolite profiling, fingerprinting, and quantitation of targeted metabolites, and the study of the biochemical fate of individual metabolites. Metabolomics data analysis and databases are major areas of research based on the availability of high-quality reference metabolite standards and data analysis tools. Discovery of new drugs from different natural resources is a challenging research of interest in the field of metabolomics. In this regard, the discovery of new antiviral drugs and vaccines is an emerging demand now after the

Metabolomics offers diverse applications in different fields such as biological, medical, and environmental sciences. It could be used in the detection of diseaserelated biomarkers and in understanding the metabolic changes in relation to diseases. It also helps in the assessment of contaminants and pollutants among many other environmental applications. The integration of metabolomics with genomics and proteomics can enable us to understand the whole biochemical pathway from the genetic order "genotype" to its expression "phenotype," which will lead in the future to amazing new insights into biology and medicine.

This book is mainly for researchers interested in the new developments and

The first chapter discusses the potential of marine microorganisms for the production of biosurfactants, which are important functional molecules with several applications. The chapter gives a general overview of the recent advances in biosurfactants of marine origin, their production, chemical identification, interesting biological properties, and potential biotechnological applications.

The second chapter is a research study conducted to identify the enriched or depleted metabolites in the feces of overweight mice after dietary treatment as biomarkers of interactions between diet and health. The authors found that the microbial metabolites, coming from the microbial fermentation of agavins, induced a beneficial effect on the health of overweight mice. These findings open exciting opportunities to explore new biomarkers with applicability to the prevention of overweight-associated metabolic syndromes and treatment of overweight people.

On the other hand, the next three chapters follow applications of the metabolic approach in the medical field. Chapter 3 discusses the mutually beneficial integration of the metabolome/microbiome in the body of healthy people and focuses on the effects of microbiota dysfunction as the cause of pathology. This chapter explains the effect of certain microbial metabolites on the work of key

applications of metabolomics. It is also important for physicians using metabolomic approaches in the diagnosis of diseases or treatment and for postgraduate students starting their research projects on metabolomics. The book is divided into two sections as indicated from its title, namely: new insights into biology and new

effects the world is facing due to the pandemic of COVID-19.

insights into medicine.
