1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance-Linked Metabolomics Investigations of Broiler Poultry and Human Saliva

1H NMR-linked metabolomics was employed to investigate blood plasma and breast meat muscle from broiler poultry for quality assessment. The purpose of this research is to further explore the metabolomics profile of poultry breast meat muscle and plasma and comprehensively identify their metabolic components. NMR spectroscopy was also used to further investigate as to whether different ultimate pH levels of water would influence the metabolic profile. A total of 10 meat muscle samples were processed and the resulting 1H NMR spectra were elucidated, identifying a total of 18 metabolites. A total of 49 plasma samples were processed for 1H NMR analysis, where 35 metabolites were identified and confirmed. These metabolites were cross-referenced with metabolic quality indicators from previous studies and it was found that the group of samples treated by WET Engineering showed higher levels of these metabolites and therefore deemed higher quality. The application of multivariate statistical analysis also showed a significant difference between treatment groups. Therefore, highlighting that changes in the pH of water given to broiler poultry can indeed have an influence on their metabolic profile. 1H NMR-linked metabolomics was also employed in order to quantify ionic magnesium and calcium salivary concentrations via NMR characterisation of their chelation complexes with EDTA. At total of 82 samples were processed for 1H NMR analysis and metabolic compounds were identified. Concentrations of ionic levels were measured for each sample and quantified via calibration curve, giving average ionic concentrations of 212 μMol/L for magnesium and 932 μMol/L for calcium. These results were comparable to those levels found in previous studies, using alternative methodologies such as AAS. The repeatability and reliability of the technique was also investigated by preparing and measuring each sample in triplicate and then re-measuring these triplicate samples after a period of 48 hours. It was found that there was a very low standard deviation of concentrations between triplicate measurements. Giving deviations on average of 22μMol/L for magnesium and 36μMol/L for calcium. However, after a period of 48 hours, when samples were re-measured, they showed on average a standard deviation that was twice as high for magnesium and four times higher for calcium. The overall objective of this thesis was to demonstrate the range of research that can be done, when using 1H NMR-linked metabolomics for the analysis of biological fluids. In this case, the research areas of agriculture and oral health were chosen.