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Urinary levoglucosan as a biomarker of wood smoke: Results of human exposure studies

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 20, pages 385–392 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Urinary levoglucosan was investigated as a potential biomarker of wood smoke exposure in two different controlled experimental settings. Nine subjects were exposed to smoke from a campfire in a controlled setting, and four were exposed to smoke from an older-model wood stove. All subjects were asked to provide urine samples before and after exposure, and to wear personal particulate matter with a diameter of ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) monitors during exposure. Urinary levoglucosan measurements from both studies showed no consistent response to the smoke exposure. A third experiment was conducted to assess the contribution of dietary factors to urinary levoglucosan levels. Nine subjects were asked to consume caramel and provide urine samples before and after consumption. Urinary levoglucosan levels increased within 2 h of caramel consumption and returned to pre-exposure levels within 24 h. These studies suggest that diet is a major factor in determining urinary levoglucosan levels and that recent dietary history needs to be taken into account for future work involving levoglucosan as a biomarker of wood smoke exposure.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Health Effects Institute no. 4743-RFA04-4/06-4), NCRR (COBRE P20RR017670), the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program (no. 0649306), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (1R01ES016336-01), and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (R03-OH007656).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA,

    Megan A Bergauff, Ashley R Evanoski & Christopher P Palmer

  2. Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA,

    Tony J Ward, Curtis W Noonan & Christopher T Migliaccio

  3. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA,

    Christopher D Simpson

  4. Department of Chemistry, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, USA,

    Ashley R Evanoski

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  1. Megan A Bergauff
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Correspondence to Christopher P Palmer.

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Bergauff, M., Ward, T., Noonan, C. et al. Urinary levoglucosan as a biomarker of wood smoke: Results of human exposure studies. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 20, 385–392 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2009.46

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