Blood levels of alcoholdehydrogenase and aldehydedehydrogenase / Монголын Анагаах Ухаан

ABSTRACT

Introduction Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) are the principal enzymes involved in catabolism of ethanol in human body. Alcohol is initially metabolized by ADH to acetaldehyde, which is consequently oxidized by ALDH to acetic acid. Individuals with low activity of alcohol-metabolizing enzymes show low tolerance to alcohol and are therefore rapidly intoxicated. Two studies on polymorphism of alcohol metabolizing enzyme genes in Mongolian population have been implemented to the date, but no assessment study of the serum activity of the enzymes have been conducted. Materials and Methods Fasting morning blood samples were collected from 240 adults 25-54 years of age (124 males and 118 females) from all provinces and the capital city of Mongolia. The serum levels of ADH and ALDH were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Result: The mean serum level of ADH was 17.6 ng/mL and of ALDH was 15.91 ng/mL. The mean levels of the two enzymes of the surveyed from UB city were significantly lower than of those who lived in rural areas (p=0.000 for both ADH and ALDH). When the survey participants were divided into three age groups (25-34 years, 35-44 years and 45-54 years of age) and their mean levels of ADH and ALDH were compared, no significant age-related differences were found (p>0.05).