ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Effect of Environmental Contamination
with Fluorine on the Concentration of Adenine
Nucleotides in the Blood of Black and White
Heifers
M. Suska, A. Lubkowska
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Department of Physiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences of Szczecin University, al. Piastów 40b, 71-065 Szczecin, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2007;16(3):441-445
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of environmental fluorine contamination on the
adenylate nucleotides (AMP, ADP, AMP), total nucleotide pool (TAN), and adenylate energy charge (AEC )
in the erythrocytes of heifers. The concentration of F in serum as well as ATP, ADP, AMP, TAN contents
and AEC of red cells were also determined. The animals exposed to F- (group A) came from farms situated
about 2-3 km away from the Police chemical plant. The control group involved animals from an ecologically
clean area (group B). In comparison with the control, heifers from a study group showed a significant
decrease in ATP (p≤0.001) and ADP (p≤0.01), with a parallel increase in erythrocyte AMP (p≤0.001). The
means serum F- concentration was higher in exposed animals (6.5 μM, whereas in the control group it was
4.3 μM). The differences were statistically significant (p≤0.05). Both the TAN concentration in serum and
the level of AEC in the group of heifers exposed to high F concentration was significantly lower than in the
control group (p≤0.001).