RESUMO
Glyoxalase-I together with glutathione (GSH) are associated with the maintenance of homeo-static level of methylglyoxal. The latter is a metabolite of glycolysis and is also formed in various consumable products during food processing. Glyoxalase-I is present in the malaria parasite which is common in tropical countries worldwide. We thus determined glyoxalase-I activity in the blood of Ghanaian Africans and the extent to which malaria parasitemia alters the activity of the enzyme in host blood. The data obtained indicate that the presence of P.falciparum in peripheral blood has no effect on blood glyoxalase-I activity. Mean enzyme activity was 8.5 U/ I (range:2.6-15.2) for controls and 10.6 U/I (range 2.7-23.1) for parasitized subjects (parasite density/microl blood 1,200-64,853; mean:21,863). The blood GSH level was similar between the two groups. A biphasic enzyme activity was, however, noted. In 7 (15.9%) of the 44 subjects (with or without malaria parasites) the glyoxalase-I activity was low (3.1+/-0.3 versus 10.8+/- 4.5 U/L) and significant (p < 0.001). Blood GSH level of those with decreased enzyme activity was also low (0.41+ 0.03 versus 0.67+/- 0.38 mmol). This finding suggests that sections of the Ghanaian populace may be less efficient in the detoxication of methylglyoxal. The possible implications of this on hepatotoxic actions of methylglyoxal are discussed.