Analysis of N-acetyltransferase (NAT2) in three ethnic groups in Tunisia

Acetylation status was compared, using caffeine as a probe drug, in the three main racial/ethnic groups living in Tunisia: Arabs, Berbers and Numides. The frequency of slow acetylators appears identical in these three groups and is different from that observed in Caucasians. However, the NAT-2 activity as a whole is lower in Tunisians than in Caucasians. These differences might be attributable to the various population mixings which occurred in the past, given the geographical position of Tunisia. It may be asked whether these differences are relevant in term of efficiency and/or frequency of adverse drug reactions when medicines whose metabolism is NAT-2 dependent are used. This hypothesis deserves to be tested.