Ecogenetic studies of drug acetylation in man and rats

Great intraindividual variation of N-acetyltransferase activity was found in human beings. Between nutritional factors and human or rat liver N-acetyltransferase activity a correlation has been observed. The proportion of rapid acetylators in human population correlates to fish protein supply (p less than 0.01). Laboratory rats of different inbred and outbred strains displayed altered enzyme activities when they were fed with different "standard diets". Furthermore, N-acetyltransferase is inhibited by a lot of naturally occurring compounds. In rats N-acetyltransferase activity values are polymorphically distributed; acetylation activity seems to be controlled by a mechanism different from man.