LEVELS OF ERYTHROCYTE SUPEROXIDE-DISMUTASE ACTIVITY IN JAPANESE PEOPLE

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 32  (6) , 393-397
Abstract
Levels of erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in a sample of Japanese people were determined. Blood samples were taken from newborn infants, pre-school children, young and old people who had no apparent diseases and also from 3 anemic patients. Erythrocyte SOD activities in different age groups had a nearly normal distribution. Females had slightly lower activities than males, although the difference was statistically insignificant. The distributions of SOD activities were 12.6 .+-. 2.7 (mean .+-. SD) unit/mg Hb in young people and 11.4 .+-. 3.0 in old people, indicating that erythrocyte SOD activity falls with aging. Because of low concentration of Hb, SOD activities of old people expressed as unit/ml blood were much lower than in young people. Three anemic patients had slightly lower SOD activity (unit/mg Hb), but the difference was not significant.

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