Breath ammonia levels in a normal human population study as determined by photoacoustic laser spectroscopy

Photoacoustic laser spectroscopy was used as a technique to measure real-time levels of ammonia in exhaled human breath in a small, locally recruited, normal healthy population (n = 30). This yielded an average level of breath ammonia of 265 ppb, ranging from 29 to 688 ppb. Although average levels were marginally higher in male volunteers, this was not statistically significant. In addition, no correlation could be found between age, body mass index, or breath carbon dioxide levels. Monitoring of the daily routine of two individuals showed a consistent decrease in oral breath ammonia concentrations by the early afternoon (post-prandial), but was followed by a gradual increase towards late afternoon. However, in a comparison of oral and nasal breath in two volunteers, nasal breath ammonia levels were found to be significantly lower than oral levels. In addition, the daily variation was only seen in oral rather than nasal measurements which may indicate that significant background levels are predominantly of oral origin and that nasal sampling is the preferred route to eradicate this background in future studies. These results provide a healthy human breath ammonia baseline upon which other studies may be compared.