Amino acid stable carbon isotopes in nail keratin illuminate breastfeeding and weaning practices of mother - infant dyads.

ABSTRACT: Compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis of amino acids (CSIA-AA) is widely used in ecological studies to analyze food-webs and is gaining use in archaeology for investigating past diets. However, its use in reconstructing breastfeeding and weaning practices is not fully understood. This study evaluates the efficacy of stable carbon isotope analysis of amino acids in early life diet reconstruction by analyzing keratin from fingernail samples of three mother-infant pairs during late gestation and early postpartum periods. Our results show that stable carbon isotope ratios (δ¹³C) of glycine, and to a lesser extent glutamate, effectively trace the onset of exclusive breastfeeding and the end of weaning in infants. We propose that glycine's 'conditionally essential' metaboli

SUBMITTER: Salahuddin H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11782432 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature