Hydrogen isotope ratios of mouse tissues are influenced by a variety of factors other than diet

Hydrogen isotopes are fractionated during biochemical reactions in a variety of organisms. A number of experiments have shown that the D/H ratios of animals and their tissues are not controlled solely by the D/H ratios of their food. The authors performed a simple experiment which indicated that the D/H ratios of a significant fraction of the organically bonded hydrogen in animal tissues must be determined by the isotopic composition of water that the samples encounter. Aliquots of dried mouse brain and liver and mouse food were exposed to water vapors of different D/H ratios prior to isotopic analysis. The results of the experiment showed that at least 16 percent of the hydrogen in mouse brain is exchangeable with the hydrogen of water; the corresponding values for mouse liver and mouse food were 25 to 29 percent