Dose-response analysis was developed by the field of toxicology to identify the concentration at which a biological assay responds to chemical exposure (the concentration is known as benchmark dose or BMD). Dose-response experimental designs typically include a control group (dose = 0) and at least three different dose groups, typically with the same number of replicates in each group.
A key activity of dose response analysis is to identify dose-response models that can describe dose–response relationship by the observed (mean) responses at the tested doses through a process called curve fitting. Dose-response models are regression models between the dose or concentration and omics abundance levels. Dose-response models encompass a range of statistical models from nonlinear regression, generalized (non)linear regression, and parametric survival analysis. MetaboAnalyst currently offer 10 built-in models (see below). Using the dose response model, we can then perform BMD estimation.
