LOW CYP1A2 ACTIVITY IN RURAL SHONA CHILDREN OF ZIMBABWE

Caffeine is increasingly used as a biochemical probe for liver functio n, in cancer epidemiology, and in pharmacogenetics, with its recognize d ability to assess the activities of CYP1A2, xanthine oxidase, and N- acetyltransferase-2. The activity of these hepatic enzymes was tested in 45 Shona children from a rural area of Zimbabwe with use of caffein e as a probe. Many of these rural black children had lower indexes of CYP1A2 activity than otherwise on our extensive records; the average v alue (3.78 +/- 2.9) was significantly (p < 0.001) lower than that of h ealthy white urban children from Zimbabwe (8.86 +/- 3.36) or from Cana da (7.92 +/- 1.88), or that of healthy Canadian adults (5.96 +/- 2.4). A higher CYP1A2 activity in children than in adults is usual. The low CYP1A2 activity of the children from rural Zimbabwe calls for medical studies and suggests a widespread and perhaps serious impairment of c ertain liver functions. Causes could be parasitic infections with Schi stosoma mansoni, causing schistosomiasis, which are endemic, in additi on to generally poor nutrition and frequent iodine deficiency. By cont rast, the xanthine oxidase activity in rural Shona children was slight ly higher than that reported for a healthy Canadian adult population. The N-acetyltransferase activities were comparable in both the rural a nd urban children and were also similar to those reported in a populat ion study of healthy adult Canadians.