This disclosure provides methods for the creation of a quantitative database of metabolites, particularly lipid metabolites, using chromatographic technology; methods for assembling that information into a visual format for interpretation, and methods of this information to identify and understand metabolome-wide effects, for instance those effects influenced by pharmaceuticals, genes, toxins, diet or the environment. Also provided are metabolite databases, such as lipid metabolite databases, that are stored on a computer readable medium, which include quantitative measurements of a plurality of metabolites.