C-13 natural abundance in the British diet: implications for C- 13 breath tests

Morrison, D.J. , Dodson, B., Slater, C. and Preston, T. (2000) C-13 natural abundance in the British diet: implications for C- 13 breath tests. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 14(15), pp. 1321-1324. (doi: 10.1002/1097-0231(20000815)14:15<1321::AID-RCM946>3.0.CO;2-8)

Abstract

Surprisingly little information is available on the natural abundance of the minor isotope of carbon, C-13, in common foodstuffs in the British diet. This study therefore aimed to examine the C-13 natural abundance of foodstuffs from a small cross-section of the British diet. The isotopic abundance, delta per mil, was calculated by measurement of the isotope ratio C-13:C-12 by isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Results from this study were also compared with results from a North American study to highlight the difference in isotopic abundance between Northern European foodstuffs and North American foodstuffs, Such data should prove useful to those planning tracer studies using the stable isotope C-13 where enrichment is measured against a large and variable natural abundance in the body. Minimisation of this basal variation, for example in breath CO2, can be achieved by controlling dietary intake of foods naturally abundant in 13C.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Preston, Professor Tom and Morrison, Professor Douglas
• Authors: Morrison, D.J., Dodson, B., Slater, C., and Preston, T.
• Subjects: Q Science > QD Chemistry
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry
• ISSN: 0951-4198