Vol 8, Issue 3, 2015 ISSN - 0974-2441 PLASMA AND ERYTHROCYTE CHOLINESTERASE ACTIVITIES IN CHILDREN FROM YUCATAN, MEXICO: RELATIONSHIP WITH ANTHROPOMETRY AND OBESITY GABRIELA RODRÍGUEZ-FUENTES 1 *, FLOR ARCEGA-CABRERA 1 , LANE F FARGHER 2 1 Sisal Chemistry Unit, Faculty of Chemistry, National Autonomus University of Mexico, Mexico. 2 Department of Human Ecology, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute, Merida, Yucatan 97310, Mexico. Email: grf@unam.mx Received: 28 February 2015, Revised and Accepted: 23 March 2015 ABSTRACT Objective: To examine cholinesterase activities in children from three towns in Yucatan, Mexico and their relationship with anthropometry. Methods: Plasma and erythrocyte cholinesterase activities were measured in 104 children from Ticul, Merida and Progreso. Differences between gender, sampling sites and body mass index (BMI) group were evaluated. Weight, height, BMI, hip and waist circumferences were correlated with cholinesterase activities. Results: Significant differences in the waist circumference and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity were found among sites. Children from Ticul presented higher BChE activity compared to children from the other towns. Children from Progreso had a smaller hip circumference compared with children from the other two locations. There was a high prevalence of overweight and obese children (40.3%). The results indicated that obese children had higher BChE activity respect to healthy weight children. As expected, there were also significant waist and hip circumference differences for BMI groups. The results demonstrated a positive significant correlation between BChE activity and weight, waist and hip circumference. Conclusions: These results support the hypothesized role of BChE in lipid metabolism. Because of the high prevalence of obese children in Mexico, BChE activity may be used as a biomarker in combination with anthropometry to monitor obesity. Keywords: Cholinesterase, Children, Anthropometry, Obesity. INTRODUCTION The state of Yucatan is located in southeastern Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula. Yucatan has a population of approximately 2,000,000 [1]. Yucatan’s primary economic activities are cattle ranching, intensive pig and poultry production, deep-sea fishing, honey production, tourism, and shifting agricultural production, or swidden. The population sampled in this study was from three towns in Yucatan, Merida, Progreso and Ticul. Merida is the capital of the state and its largest city, with approximately 830,000 habitants, or 780,000 excluding the rural areas of the municipality [1]. Residents of Merida engage primarily in political administration, academic activities, and services. Manufacturing is present, but plays a secondary role in the city’s economy. Progreso, with a population of 47,000, excluding rural areas of the municipality [1], is located north of Merida on the Gulf Coast and is the state’s primary port town. The most important economic activities are deep-sea fishing and import/export activities. Finally, Ticul, with a population of approximately 33,000, excluding rural areas of the municipality [1], is the most important town in the southern part of the state, a largely agricultural district. The residents of Ticul primarily offer services to the surrounding towns and villages, and also engage in small-scale manufacturing, particularly shoes. Similar to much of southern Mexico, the state of Yucatan has a largely indigenous population (Maya) that is socially, politically, and economically marginalized by the dominant “mestizo” culture from central and northern Mexico. This population was relatively isolated from major globalization forces throughout much of the 20 th century and continued to live in “idyllic Indian villages,” noted for their oval shaped wattle-and-daub houses with thatched roofs [2-4]. However, during the last 30 years, this situation has changed dramatically as Mexico has increasingly embraced a Neoliberal economic policy [5-7]. Over this period, global markets have penetrated deep into the Yucatan countryside bringing new products and a new consumerism to many inhabitants. These changes have brought the most profound dietary and health transitions to the region since the Spanish conquest in the 1540’s. Specifically, there has been an enormous increase in the consumption of soft drinks and industrially processed food in a population that had only limited access prior to 1990. After 30 years of intense globalization, the population of Yucatan is facing a diabetes-obesity-malnutrition epidemic [8-11]. Currently, 7 of every 10 adult Yucatecans is overweight, and 73% of these individuals present with abdominal obesity [12,13]. Sadly, children are quickly becoming as obese as their parents. Approximately 30- 40% of children and adolescents living in Yucatan are overweight or obese [12-14]. In humans, two cholinesterases are present, acetylcholinesterase (AChE, 3.1.1.7) also known as true cholinesterase, red blood cell (RBC) cholinesterase or erythrocyte cholinesterase, and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE, 3.1.1.8), also known as pseudocholinesterase or plasma cholinesterase. AChE is a key enzyme in the nervous system that hydrolyzes acetylcholine in synaptic junctions. It is also present in non-cholinergic neurons and in hematopoietic, osteogenic and various neoplastic cells where it is involved in neuritogenesis, cell adhesion, synaptogenesis, hematopoiesis, and thrombopoiesis [15]. BChE has a wide tissue distribution. Previous studies suggest that BChE may be involved in detoxification processes, lipid metabolism, cell regeneration, neurogenesis, regulation of cell proliferation, and at the onset of differentiation during early neuronal development [16]. Cholinesterases have traditionally been used to assess the toxic effects of pesticides, mainly organophosphate and carbamates [17,18]. However, they have also been used as biomarkers of nutritional status [19], hypothyroidism [20], cancer [21,22], Alzheimer’s disease [23,24], inflammation [25] and other conditions [26,27]. Because of the importance of cholinesterase levels as biomarkers of human health, the objective of this study was to evaluate the plasma and Research Article