Metabolomics

Vitamin metabolites are intermediates and end products formed as vitamins are absorbed, transformed, and degraded in vivo—including precursors, active metabolites, and degradation products such as the active vitamin D form 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, the folate metabolite 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, and the active vitamin B6 form pyridoxal phosphate. As a core component of the nutritional metabolic network, vitamin metabolites reflect vitamin absorption and utilization efficiency and participate in energy metabolism, gene expression regulation, and immune function. Their dysregulation is linked to chronic diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular disease), neurodegenerative disorders, and birth defects. Compared with single-vitamin assays, panoramic vitamin-metabolite analysis captures the full 'intake–conversion–utilization' pathway, providing deeper molecular evidence for nutritional assessment, early disease warning, and mechanistic research. It is a research hotspot in nutrition, clinical medicine, and translational medicine, applied in personalized nutrition, chronic-disease risk assessment, therapeutic drug monitoring, and special-population health management.