Non-targeted metabolomic approach reveals urinary metabolites linked to steroid biosynthesis pathway after ingestion of citrus juice

► Metabolomics is a powerful tool for identification of metabolites associated with dietary intake. ► Four urinary endocrine metabolites were identified as significant after citrus juice intake. ► The metabolites after 4days of citrus juice intake belonged to the steroid pathway. ► This metabolomics approach provides mechanistic support to previous targeted studies. Citrus juice intake has been highlighted because of its health-promoting effects. LC–MS based metabolomics approaches are applied to obtain a better knowledge on changes in the concentration of metabolites due to its dietary intake and allow a better understanding of involved metabolic pathways. Eight volunteers daily consumed 400mL of juice for four consecutive days and urine samples were collected before intake and 24h after each citrus juice intake. Urine samples were analysed by nanoHPLC-q-TOF, followed by principal component analysis (PCA) and Student’s t-test (p