Abstract
Drinking and Smoking Habits and Urinary Level of Hippuric Acid in Adults not Exposed to Toluene: Edna Maria ALVAREZ-LEITE, et al. Department of Clinical Chemistry and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Federal University of Minas Gerais-UFMG, Brazil—Hippuric acid (HA) is still the biomarker most used for monitoring exposure to toluene, but it is produced by the body even in the absence of this solvent, and has the disadvantage of showing significant variation in and between individuals, depending on environmental factors and individual characteristics. A number of studies have reported the influence of individual drinking and smoking habits on toluene metabolism, but the effect on urinary excretion of HA is still controversial. This study was conducted in an attempt to examine whether these individual habits also affect HA excretion in individuals not exposed to toluene. Urine sample from 195 people (99 women and 96 men), ranging in age from 17 to 46 years old, were collected. The individuals were classified in groups according their drinking and smoking habits. The data from the current study indicate that these two social habits, either separately or combined, do not influence basal urinary HA levels in this study group.
