Salivary clearance and urinary metabolic pattern of caffeine in healthy children and in pediatric patients with hepatocellular diseases

Measurement of salivary clearance and urinary metabolites of caffeine is an excellent noninvasive tool for assessing liver function, particularly the activity of cytochrome P4501A2 (CYP1A2), N-acetyltransferase (NAT), and xanthine oxidase (XO). This study was undertaken to measure the clearance of caffeine using saliva as a biological fluid and to assess the activities of the above-mentioned enzymes in healthy children and pediatric patients with liver diseases using urinary molar ratios of different caffeine metabolites. The well-established two-sample saliva approach was used to measure the clearance of caffeine in nine pediatric patients with liver diseases (LD) and in nine healthy children. The caffeine metabolites were also measured in the urine of these subjects by high-performance liquid chromatography, and urinary molar ratios of 5-acetylamino-6-formylamino-3-methyluracil (AFMU), 1-methylxanthine (1X), 1-methyluric acid (1U), and 1,7-dimethyluric acid (17U) were employed to estimate the activities of CYP1A2, NAT, and XO. The caffeine salivary clearance and the percentage of the dose excreted in the form of various metabolites were significantly (p < 0.035) smaller in the LD patients than those in healthy children. The urinary molar ratio of [AFMU + 1U + 1X]/17U, which reflects the activity of CYP1A2, was also significantly (p < 0.0005) reduced in these patients. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in the ratios of AFMU/1X and 1U/1X, which estimate the activities of NAT and XO, respectively. In conclusion, the data obtained suggest that liver disease in pediatric subjects significantly reduces the salivary clearance of caffeine and the activity of cytochrome P4501A2, but it has no impact on the activities of NAT and XO.
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