Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a special branch of spectroscopy
which exploits the magnetic properties of atomic nuclei for molecular elucidation and
identification. A technique that was initially developed to analyze chemical and
physical molecular structure is now widely used in medical diagnosis. The noninvasiveness,
non-destructiveness and simplicity of sample preparation make NMR the
preferred technique for metabolomics study. Various body fluids such as urine, saliva,
blood, plasma, serum and sweat have been explored to identify potential biomarkers of
diseases. Psychiatric disorders, specifically alcohol-use disorder and neurological
disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, have been investigated with the aid of NMR
spectroscopy. Cancer has been one of the most widely studied areas and the research
also includes determination of biomarkers which not only could detect the presence of
cancer but also potentially predict the various cancer processes in cancer cell lines.
Infectious diseases including the compounds produced by the microorganisms such as
in tuberculosis and pneumonia have also been explored. Besides, NMR metabolomics
has also been used to establish a metabolic fingerprint for risk stratification and early
detection of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The samples of subjects with the diseases
were collected and the metabolites were compared against controls such as healthy
individuals using complex chemometrics and multivariate data analysis such as
principal component analysis, partial least square and orthogonal partial least square
analyses to distinguish the potential biomarkers. In terms of the various uses of NMR
metabolomics in the subject of diagnostic medicine, more improvements to overcome
the analytical limitations are expected, making it one of the most notable diagnostic
tools of the future. This chapter reviewed some of the published articles in cancer,
psychiatric and neurological diseases to provide examples of using NMR spectroscopy
in diagnosing human disorders.
Keywords: Cancer, Metabolomics, Neurological disorders, Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance Spectroscopy, Psychiatric disorders.
