Chemistry meets nutrition: Toward a systems biological description of human metabolism

Chemistry was already pioneered by ancient Egyptians up to 4000 years ago. Despite its age, chemistry is by no means a dying scientific discipline. The different branches of study within chemistry have infiltrated all fields of life science research, and nobody can work in this area without using chemistry in the broadest sense. The present article is a personal view on how chemistry supports life science research, in particular in the field of nutrition and metabolism research. It provides insight into how chemistry, in close collaboration with life science research, helps to fill the gaps between our current fragmentary understanding and the comprehensive knowledge required for better understanding the molecular details of metabolism, health and disease, and aging. The most important contributions of the chemical disciplines to these studies with respect to a systems biological description of human nutrition and metabolism will be outlined.