Humeomics: A key to unravel the humusic pentagram

Humeomics is a sequential chemical fractionation that applies organic solvent extraction, transesterification with boron trifluoride in methanol, methanolic alkaline hydrolysis, and cleavage of ether and glycosidic bonds with HI. The procedure revealed a series of unique humic fractions with specific molecular composition. The technique can provide molecular identification compound classes that are found inside the soil humus, thus revealing concomitant information on the original conformation of these substances in the humus matrix. Thus, humeomics can serve as an analytical tool to unfold the complexity of the soil humeome, peering into parts of organic matter that were previously unexplored.