High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as a means of assessing the presence of uric acid in archeological human remains: Challenges and future directions
Buckberry, Jo Telford, Richard Castells Navarro, L. Swinson, D. Healey, Andrew Brickley, M.B.
Buckberry, Jo
Telford, Richard
Castells Navarro, L.
Swinson, D.
Healey, Andrew
Brickley, M.B.
Publication Date
2024-04
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(c) 2025 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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2024-04-02
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Abstract
Objectives: This research initially aimed to replicate the Swinson et al. (2010) method for detecting uric acid in archeological human remains to investigate the Metabolic Syndrome in past populations; we previously obtained positive test results from bone samples in 4/5 individuals with gout lesions. We sought to improve the original HPLC-UV method by using HPLC-MS, a more sensitive, compound-specific detection method.
Materials and Methods: We used reference samples of uric acid to create dilution series to assess the limits of quantification and detection. Samples from individuals with and without gout lesions were taken from foot bones and ribs from the English cemeteries of Tanyard, Hickleton, Gloucester and Lincoln.
Results: Tests using dilution series of uric acid showed HPLC-MS was approximately 100x more sensitive than HPLC-UV, and compound-specific. A newly developed HILIC method improved retention characteristics. Fourteen samples from 8 individuals, 5 with skeletal lesions consistent with gout, were analyzed with the final method. None showed evidence of uric acid despite this method’s improved sensitivity and specificity.
Discussion: The lack of detectable uric acid in these samples suggests that either 1) uric acid is not incorporated into bone tissue during normal bone turnover in people with gout, 2) uric acid is not surviving these specific archeological conditions or, 3) the concentration of uric acid in bone is low, and thus larger samples would be required for analysis. Finally, other compounds are clearly present in bone extracts. Further work may identify what these are and if they have potential significance for paleopathology.
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Buckberry J, Telford R, Castells Navarro L e al (2024) High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as a means of assessing the presence of uric acid in archeological human remains: Challenges and future directions. American Journal of Biological Anthropology. 184(3): e24938.
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