Evidence for a possible dietary effect on the isotopic composition of Zn in blood via isotopic analysis of food products by multi-collector ICP-mass spectrometry

Abstract

In this work, the hypothesis of a possible dietary effect on the isotopic composition of Zn in blood from populations with different feeding habits, i.e. lacto-ovo vegetarians and omnivores, was investigated through isotopic analysis of Zn in common food products by multi-collector ICP - mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). Several certified reference materials (CRMs) were also included in the sample set for comparison purposes. For these CRMs, the isotopic composition of Zn is expressed as δ-values, calculated with respect to both IRMM-3702 and JMC-ZnLyon, as isotopic standards. The range of δ(66)Zn values observed in food products was approximately 1.9‰. In general, vegetables, cereals and derived products showed an enrichment of the heavier Zn isotopes, whereas a depletion was observed in products of animal origin (meat, fish, egg and semi-skimmed milk), relative to human blood samples. Mussel, however, showed a significant enrichment of the heavier isotopes, which is hypothetically attributed to its accumulation behaviour. Thus, the lower δ(66)Zn values found in food products of animal origin appear to be reflected in the lower δ(66)Zn value observed in blood from an omnivorous population compared to that for a vegetarian population.

High Precision Zinc Stable Isotope Measurement of Certified Biological Reference Materials Using the Double Spike Technique and Multiple Collector-ICP-MS

“…2). For the bovine muscle, our δ 66/64 Zn result of −0.30 ± 0.10‰ agrees with data from a different laboratory (−0.24 ± 0.02‰ [22]). For BCR-639, the average δ 66/64 Zn value found was −3.29 ± 0.12‰, with no difference between the two batches (−3.31 ± 0.13 and 3.28 ± 0.11‰).…”

“…For the human blood serum, the results are plotted on a different y -axis, due to the large isotopic offset. The δ 66/64 Zn literature data for London Zn, bovine muscle and human blood serum are from Moeller et al 2012 [58], Costas-Rodríguez et al 2014 [22] and Larner et al 2015 [21], respectively …”

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Fig. 4Compilation of published δ 66/64 Zn values for animal tissue and the reference materials analysed in this study (squares, except BCR-639), reported relative to IRMM-3702 Zn [16, 18, 21, 22, 25, 26, 29, 60–62]. Literature data reported relative to JMC Lyon Zn was corrected for an offset of 0.32‰ between IRMM-3702 Zn and JMC Lyon Zn (Table 1)

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Ion Exchange Chromatography and Mass Bias Correction for Accurate and Precise Zn Isotope Ratio Measurements in Environmental Reference Materials by MC-ICP-MS

“…[14][15][16] To date, a number of ion exchange chromatographic protocols for specific sample types such as rocks, sediments, marine and fresh water, aerosols, plants and food has been published. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Moreover, our understanding about instrumental controls of mass bias including effect of acid strength, dopant/analyte ratios, wet and dry plasma and matrix has improved. [27][28][29][30][31][32] However, the rapid advance of the stable metal isotope field has not been accompanied by the supply of reference materials (RMs), hindering the inter-laboratory studies and quality assurances.…”

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

“…526 Costas-Rodriguez et al have shown recently that the difference in the isotopic composition of whole-blood Zn between omnivores and vegetarians is linked with the isotopic composition of food products of plant and animal origin, respectively. 527 Van Heghe et al demonstrated that menstruation and the associated loss of mineral elements are at the basis of the gender-based difference in whole blood Fe and Cu isotopic compositions. 528 Postmenopausal women show isotopic signatures that correspond with those of the male cohort of the population.…”