Metabolite Extraction Technique

The term metabolite usually refers to a substance produced during, or taking part in, a particular metabolic process. Glucose in the metabolism of sugars, starches and amino acids in the synthesis of proteins are examples of metabolites.

Considerations

A good metabolite extraction technique should extract as many metabolites as possible, but should be fast and nonselective. It should, however, be nondestructive and cause no chemical or physical changes to the metabolites extracted.

Common Techniques

Common techniques of metabolite extraction include treatments with hot ethanol or methanol at a temperature between 158 degrees Fahrenheit and 194 degrees Fahrenheit, cold ethanol at -40 degrees Fahrenheit, and perchloric and trichloroacetic acids. Other methods include potassium hydroxide and methanol in conjunction with chloroform.

ATP

Experimentally, hot ethanol and perchloric acid metabolite extraction techniques have been shown to be the most effective in extracting adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the main source of energy in cellular reactions, from the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum. Chloroform extraction techniques reduced the amount of ATP that could be extracted.

References

• Dictionary.com: Metabolite
• VIMSS: Functional Genomics
• Microbial Cell Factories: Comparison of quenching and extraction methodologies for metabolome analysis of Lactobacillus plantarum