ABSTRACT
Objective To know the effects of air pollution on the activity of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) in the placenta tissue of women in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province. Methods The decrement of BaP after the metabolic procedure was used as the indicator of AHH activity. 151 lying-in women were selected and the AHH activity in the placenta was determined by fluorescence spectrophotometer, the precooling EDTA was added in the determination to inactivate AHH and to stop the reaction completely in order to get more stable result. Results The AHH activity in the placenta tissue increased as the atmospheric particle concentration and the BaP concentration in the particles increased. Conclusion The air pollution may induce the AHH activity increase in the placenta tissue of pregnant women in Taiyuan. The AHH activity can be used as the biological monitoring indicator in the PAHs polluted areas.