CRITICAL-ASSESSMENT OF IN-VIVO C-13 NMR-SPECTROSCOPY AND GAS-LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY IN THE STUDY OF ADIPOSE-TISSUE COMPOSITION

Routine measurement of adipose tissue composition by repeated biopsy i nvokes both ethical and practical difficulties, limiting long-term ser ial studies of adipose tissue composition. In vivo C-13 nuclear magnet ic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been applied as a non-invasive alt ernative, although it has not as yet been fully validated. In this stu dy we critically assess in vivo C-13 NMR spectroscopy and gas-liquid c hromatography for the analysis of adipose tissue composition. The adva ntages and drawbacks of both methods are discussed, in particular to t he study of adipose tissue during dietary manipulation and development . Our results show that the NMR measurements of adipose tissue composi tion are highly reproducible, but they can significantly differ from t hose obtained by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) from the same volunte er. We show that the discrepancy between these two techniques arises f rom inherent limitations of both C-13 NMR spectroscopy and GLC. Finall y, we show that C-13 NMR spectroscopy remains a useful non-invasive to ol for the study of adipose tissue, and will enable us to perform long -term serial studies to further our knowledge of lipid metabolism. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.