Analysis of lipid peroxidation in the head hair of an urban population

Human head hair is considered a repository of information on metabolic changes, toxic exposures and diseases. Hair analysis has been investigated for environmental exposure to toxic principles such as heavy metals and is being considered as a simple and non-invasive tool for biomonitoring capable of complementing clinical investigation using biological samples such as blood, sputum and urine. Hair follicles contain lipids which are peroxidizable under oxidative stress occasioned by excessive reactive oxygen species. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) are products of lipid peroxidation. This work aimed to provide data on TBARS concentrations in human head hair samples as a tool for assessing environmental exposure. Head hair samples were collected from apparently healthy female and male volunteers aged between 10 and 50 years (middle age). The samples were subjected to alkaline digestion, and spectrophotometric technique was used to assay for TBARS as a marker of oxidative stress. Significantly higher levels of TBARS were found among the female than the male volunteers. The teens and the adults (30 – 40 years) showed higher levels than the middle-aged class. There was no strong association of age with TBARS level. The results support previous study reports that gender is a predictor of hair lipid peroxidation.