Stable isotope composition of human fingernails from Slovakia

Stable isotope composition of human fingernails has proven to be useful for documenting human dietary information and geographical patterns in archeological, forensic, anthropological and biological studies. Therefore, it is of interest to detect all factors influencing the stable isotopic composition in the certain regions in the world. Carbon and nitrogen isotope data of human fingernail keratin from 52 individuals from Slovakia were reported in this study. The online combustion and continuous flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometer Delta V Advantage was used for delta C-13 and delta N-15 analysis of fingernail keratin samples from 24 vegetarian and 28 omnivorous individuals. A group of people with frequent meat consumption showed enrichment in C-13 and N-15 isotopes in fingernails. A similar trend was observed with increasing seafood in an individual's diet. Moreover a significant difference was revealed between smokers and nonsmokers for both delta C-13 and delta N-15 values. These data were compared to previously published delta C-13 and delta N-15 fingernail values from across the globe. This study brings new information on the stable isotope signature of individuals from Slovakia and characterizes the Central European region for the first time. The stable isotope composition of fingernails is influenced by the frequency of meat and seafood consumption as well as smoking. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.