| Abstract: | ![]()
The purpose of the study was assessment of the effect of an environment contaminated with heavy metals on the activity of certain enzymes of mixed saliva. The activity was determined of total acid phosphatase and phosphatase resistant to tartrate and formaldehyde, alkaline phosphatase, alanine and aspartate aminotransferase, and alpha-amylase. The studied material comprised 110 saliva samples obtained from three groups of children aged 8 years. Group I of 21 children lived in Szopienice, group II of 30 children lived in Miasteczko Slaskie. In both these localities the children were exposed to mean daily concentrations, above the permitted ones, mainly of lead compounds, in lower degree to cadmium and zinc compounds. Environment contamination in Szopienice was greater than in Miasteczko Slaskie. Group III of 59 children living in Lubowice served as controls. In that town the permissible concentrations of these compounds were not exceeded. Statistical analysis of these results showed that the activity of total acid phosphatase in groups I and II, that is in the contaminated areas, was highly significantly greater than in the control group. The activity of alkaline phosphatase was raised only in the saliva in group I. No differences were found in the activity of alpha-amylase and aminotransferases. |
