Changes in lecithin concentrations in human blood with aging

Abstract

Lecithin is a phospholipid and a major structural component of the cell membrane. The aim of this study was to determine the lecithin concentrations (LC) in the human blood depending on age. Lecithin was measured in the human plasma (807) and wholeblood (787)of men and women aged 0.6 to 90years, by using a commercially available enzymatic kit, which is based on the spectrophotometric determination. All samples were divided into four aging groups: children (0-12 years), adolescents (13-20 y.), work-active group (21-60 y.), and older group (>60 y.). The plasma LC of all males (397) were very similar to those of females (410) (mean 3.01±0.91 mmol/l, and 2.99±1.02 mmol/l, respectively). However, within both gender, the plasma LC increased with aging. The LC in whole blood increased with aging in males, but in the work-active group, and in older group of women, the whole blood lecithin decreased without statistical significance. Also, the LC in whole blood of older women were statistically lower than the LC in older men (p^***<0.001, Mann-Whitneytest), while the LC in whole blood of other groups of both gender were mainly uniform. The lecithin ratio in plasma and whole blood was »1:2 in all aging groups.