Abstract
Alcohol and drug metabolizing activity in placenta is one of the important factors influencing fetal health status, especially when the gravida is exposed to alcohol or drugs. In the present investigation, we measured the activities of alcohol and drug metabolizing enzymes of microsomes obtained from twenty-six human placentas and compared these activities with those of rat liver. Aminopyrine N-demethylase activity of human placental microsomes was 37.3 ± 6.2 (n mol formaldehyde/mg protein/15 min), while that of rat liver microsomes was 90.6 ± 18.4. Rat liver microsomes showed distinct activity for aniline hydroxylase and benzpyrene hydroxylase. In contrast, human placental microsomes had no activity for either of these enzymes. Activities of alcohol dehydrogenase and the microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system (MEOS) in human placental microsomes were approximately one-tenth of those in rat liver microsomes. No relationship was found between the activities of microsomal enzymes in placenta and the properties of gravida, placenta and pregnancy including term of pregnancy, frequency of delivery and weight of placenta. However, between the activities of microsmal enzymes in placenta and the age of gravida, a negative interrelation was found.
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