Traditional ways of measuring dietary exposure (food frequency questionnaires, 24-h recalls and food records) are associated with large measurement errors, which may affect inference on the diet-disease relationship in epidemiological studies. To overcome this problem, a dietary biomarker may be used.
A dietary biomarker refers to a molecule which is closely related to the exposure of a food or a nutrient and that can be measured in the human body. We have identified and evaluated alkylresorcinols as specific biomarkers for the intake of foods rich in whole grain and bran of wheat and rye.
Areas of interest
Analysis of whole grain/bran biomarkers (alkylresorcinols) in foods
Analysis of whole grain/bran biomarkers (alkylresorcinols and their metabolites) in biological samples (plasma, urine, adipose and other tissues)
Validation and calibration of whole grain/bran biomarkers (alkylresorcinols and their metabolites) in human intervention studies
Validation of whole grain/bran biomarkers (alkylresorcinols and their metabolites) in epidemiological studies
Research group
Professor Afaf Kamal-Eldin
Professor Per Åman
Associate professor Annica Andersson
Dr Rikard Landberg
PhD-student Matti Marklund
PhD-student Roksana Wierzbika
External funding
FORMAS, Nordic Centre of Excellence “HELGA: Nordic Health – Wholegrain Food”, The Swedish Research Council (VR), Druvans forskningsstiftelse, The Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, The Swedish Nutrition Foundation, and World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) are acknowledged for funding.
Key references
Landberg, R., Åman, P., Friberg, L. E., Vessby, B., Adlercreutz, H. and Kamal-Eldin, A. Dose response of whole-grain biomarkers: alkylresorcinols in human plasma and their metabolites in urine in relation to intake. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 89 (2009) 290-296
Landberg, R., Åman, P. and Kamal-Eldin, A. A rapid gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for quantification of alkylresorcinols in human plasma. Anal. Biochem. 385 (2009) 7-12
Landberg, R., Kamal-Eldin, A., Andersson, A., Vessby, B. and Åman, P. Alkylresorcinols as biomarkers of whole grain wheat and rye intake : Plasma concentrations and intake estimated from dietary records. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 87 (2008) 832-838
Chen, Y., Ross, A., Åman, P. and Kamal-Eldin, A. Alkylresorcinols as markers of whole grain wheat and rye in cereal products. J. Agric. Food Chem. 52 (2004) 8242-8246
Ross, A. B., Kamal-Eldin, A. and Åman, P. Dietary Alkylresorcinols: Absorption, bioactivities, and possible use as biomarkers of whole-grain wheat- and rye-rich foods. Nutrition Reviews 62 (2004) 81-95