Human exposure to green spaces and monoterpenes: discovery and use of α-pinene metabolites as biomarkers
Exposure to green spaces has been linked to numerous health benefits, including a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease and lower mortality rates. However, to better understand how green spaces influence human health, it is essential to have valid, quantitative measures of greenness exposu...
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025004611 |
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| author | Zhengzhi Xie Saurin R. Sutaria Jin Y. Chen Hong Gao Daniel J. Conklin Rachel J. Keith Sanjay Srivastava Pawel Lorkiewicz Aruni Bhatnagar |
| author_facet | Zhengzhi Xie Saurin R. Sutaria Jin Y. Chen Hong Gao Daniel J. Conklin Rachel J. Keith Sanjay Srivastava Pawel Lorkiewicz Aruni Bhatnagar |
| author_sort | Zhengzhi Xie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Exposure to green spaces has been linked to numerous health benefits, including a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease and lower mortality rates. However, to better understand how green spaces influence human health, it is essential to have valid, quantitative measures of greenness exposure. Building on our previous identification of urinary limonene metabolites as potential biomarkers of exposure, we now investigate α-pinene, another abundant plant-emitted monoterpene, to identify and quantify its urinary metabolites and evaluate their suitability as biomarkers. We used liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) to analyze samples of human urine collected following either controlled α-pinene inhalation or real-world greenness exposure. Through a combination of pseudo-targeted and untargeted analyses, we discovered 22 α-pinene metabolites post-inhalation including nine novel structures, with two confirmed against synthetic standards. Relative quantitation of the urinary levels of the metabolites was used to estimate their kinetic parameters. A 4 h exposure to a forest environment resulted in significant increases in the most abundant metabolites. This suggests that α-pinene metabolites, specifically myrtenic acid glucuronide and dihydromyrtenic acid glucuronide, may serve as valid biomarkers when assessing individual exposure to green environments. When combined with other subjective and objective measures, these novel urinary biomarkers promote a more comprehensive assessment of exposure to greenness. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ba1c5631fa1b4cbda92c4dd795a86253 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj-art-ba1c5631fa1b4cbda92c4dd795a862532025-08-20T03:23:34ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202025-08-0120210971010.1016/j.envint.2025.109710Human exposure to green spaces and monoterpenes: discovery and use of α-pinene metabolites as biomarkersZhengzhi Xie0Saurin R. Sutaria1Jin Y. Chen2Hong Gao3Daniel J. Conklin4Rachel J. Keith5Sanjay Srivastava6Pawel Lorkiewicz7Aruni Bhatnagar8Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, USA; Superfund Research Center, University of Louisville, USA; American Heart Association-Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, University of Louisville, USA; Division of Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USAChristina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, USA; Superfund Research Center, University of Louisville, USA; American Heart Association-Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, University of Louisville, USA; Department of Chemistry, Bellarmine University, USA; Division of Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USAChristina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, USA; Superfund Research Center, University of Louisville, USA; American Heart Association-Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, University of Louisville, USA; Division of Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USAChristina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, USA; Superfund Research Center, University of Louisville, USA; American Heart Association-Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, University of Louisville, USA; Division of Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USAChristina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, USA; Superfund Research Center, University of Louisville, USA; American Heart Association-Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, University of Louisville, USA; Division of Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USAChristina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, USA; Superfund Research Center, University of Louisville, USA; American Heart Association-Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, University of Louisville, USA; Division of Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USAChristina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, USA; Superfund Research Center, University of Louisville, USA; American Heart Association-Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, University of Louisville, USA; Division of Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USAChristina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, USA; Superfund Research Center, University of Louisville, USA; American Heart Association-Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, University of Louisville, USA; Division of Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA; Department of Chemistry, University of Louisville, USA; Corresponding author at: Division of Environmental Medicine, University of Louisville, 302 E Muhammad Ali Blvd. Room 211, Louisville, KY 40202, USA.Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, USA; Superfund Research Center, University of Louisville, USA; American Heart Association-Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, University of Louisville, USA; Division of Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USAExposure to green spaces has been linked to numerous health benefits, including a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease and lower mortality rates. However, to better understand how green spaces influence human health, it is essential to have valid, quantitative measures of greenness exposure. Building on our previous identification of urinary limonene metabolites as potential biomarkers of exposure, we now investigate α-pinene, another abundant plant-emitted monoterpene, to identify and quantify its urinary metabolites and evaluate their suitability as biomarkers. We used liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) to analyze samples of human urine collected following either controlled α-pinene inhalation or real-world greenness exposure. Through a combination of pseudo-targeted and untargeted analyses, we discovered 22 α-pinene metabolites post-inhalation including nine novel structures, with two confirmed against synthetic standards. Relative quantitation of the urinary levels of the metabolites was used to estimate their kinetic parameters. A 4 h exposure to a forest environment resulted in significant increases in the most abundant metabolites. This suggests that α-pinene metabolites, specifically myrtenic acid glucuronide and dihydromyrtenic acid glucuronide, may serve as valid biomarkers when assessing individual exposure to green environments. When combined with other subjective and objective measures, these novel urinary biomarkers promote a more comprehensive assessment of exposure to greenness.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025004611Greenness exposureMonoterpenebiogenic volatile organic compounds (bVOC)α-pineneLC-MSData-independent acquisition (DIA) |
| spellingShingle | Zhengzhi Xie Saurin R. Sutaria Jin Y. Chen Hong Gao Daniel J. Conklin Rachel J. Keith Sanjay Srivastava Pawel Lorkiewicz Aruni Bhatnagar Human exposure to green spaces and monoterpenes: discovery and use of α-pinene metabolites as biomarkers Environment International Greenness exposure Monoterpene biogenic volatile organic compounds (bVOC) α-pinene LC-MS Data-independent acquisition (DIA) |
| title | Human exposure to green spaces and monoterpenes: discovery and use of α-pinene metabolites as biomarkers |
| title_full | Human exposure to green spaces and monoterpenes: discovery and use of α-pinene metabolites as biomarkers |
| title_fullStr | Human exposure to green spaces and monoterpenes: discovery and use of α-pinene metabolites as biomarkers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Human exposure to green spaces and monoterpenes: discovery and use of α-pinene metabolites as biomarkers |
| title_short | Human exposure to green spaces and monoterpenes: discovery and use of α-pinene metabolites as biomarkers |
| title_sort | human exposure to green spaces and monoterpenes discovery and use of α pinene metabolites as biomarkers |
| topic | Greenness exposure Monoterpene biogenic volatile organic compounds (bVOC) α-pinene LC-MS Data-independent acquisition (DIA) |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025004611 |
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