Determination of Delta-aminolevulinic Acid in Plasma using High-performance Liquid Chromatography: A Sensitive Indicator of Lead Effects

• Published in: Industrial Health Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 85 - 96
• Main Authors: MORITA, Yoko, ARAKI, Shunichi, SAKAI, Tadashi, ARAKI, Takaharu, MASUYAMA, Yoshiaki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health 1994
• Subjects: Adult; Aminolevulinic Acid - blood; Aminolevulinic Acid - urine; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid - methods; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Fluorometry; Humans; Key words: Delta-aminolevulinic acid-Plasma-Urine-Lead-Delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase-Biological monitoring-Dose-effect relationship-High-performance liquid chromatography; Lead - blood; Male; Metallurgy; Middle Aged; Porphobilinogen Synthase - blood; Sensitivity and Specificity
• ISSN: 0019-8366; 1880-8026
• DOI: 10.2486/indhealth.32.85

We developed a simple and reliable method for determining delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) in plasma (ALA-P) by fluorometric high-performance liquid chromatography. The method was applicable to 100 μl of plasma and the mean ± standard deviation for analytical recovery was 100.4 ± 2.6% when 50 pg/1 of ALA was added to 14 plasma samples. The detection limit for ALA-P was 2.0 μg/l (signal-to-noise ratio was 5) and the standard curve was linear in a wide range up to 400 μg/l. The ALA-P level for 26 unexposed male adults was 8.6 ± 1.3 μg/l. In 72 male lead workers, logarithm of ALA-P concentration was significantly correlated with blood lead concentrations (Pb-B) of 2.5-115.4 μg/dl (r = 0.924, p < 0.001). Even at the Pb-B level less than 15 pg/dl, significant linear relationships were found between Pb-B and log ALA-P (r = 0.632, p < 0.01), between Pb-B and delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity (ALA-D) (r =-0.573, p < 0.05), and between ALA-D and ALA-P (r =-0.765, p < 0.001). It is suggested that ALA-P determined by the present method is a useful indicator of biological effects of lead, es-pecially in the wide range of Pb-B level.