Improving Stable Isotopic Interpretations Made From Human Hair Through Reduction of Growth Cycle Error

February 2011 in “ American Journal of Biological Anthropology ”

Lana J. Williams, Christine D. White, Fred J. Longstaffe

human hair hair growth cycle isotopic analysis dietary variations growth phases metabolic assessments

TLDR The conclusion is that recognizing hair growth cycles can improve the precision of dietary and health assessments from hair analysis.

The study from 2011 aimed to enhance the accuracy of stable isotopic analysis of human hair, which is used to study short-term dietary variations. It identified a growth cycle error due to the mix of hair in different growth phases, which can obscure recent dietary information. The research involved hair samples from 10 individuals from Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, and compared isotopic analyses of hair in active growth phases to those with mixed phases. The results showed that isotopic signals in mixed phase hair samples were delayed by about 1 month compared to those in the active growth phase. The study concluded that understanding hair growth cycles is crucial for interpreting dietary and health changes and that reducing growth cycle error can lead to more precise dietary and metabolic assessments.

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