Abstract
The assay of furosine, an acid-hydrolysis product derived from fructose-lysine in glycated protein, was used as a specific method for determining Amadori compounds using high-performance liquid chromatography.
The nenenzymatic glycation of hair protein, which is readily taken non-invasively from the living body, was used as an indicator of blood glucose control.
We investigated the correlation between the furosine levels in hair of 1-cm lengths from the scalp and the fasting blood glucose level, as well as the correlation between the former and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels at the time of hair sampling.
The HbA1c level was well correlated with the furosine level in hair 0.5-1.5 cm, 1.5-2.5 cm and 2.5-3.5 cm from the scalp, but the corelation was best for the 0.5-1.5 cm hair portion. Hair in that section reflects blood glucose control during the preceding 1-1.5 months depending on the rate of hair growth.
The highly significant correlation between the furosine level in hair 0.5-1.5 cm from the scalp and the HbA1c level suggests that the condition of blood glucose control at previous arbitrary time points can be estimated by using hair samples at various lengths from the hair root.
