Effect of low radiation doses on the content of endogeneous porphyrins in the living organism

Abstract

Investigations of urinary excretion of copro- and uroporphyrins from the organism of healthy humans and humans exposed to low radiation doses (children and adolescents, adults and pregnant females) have been performed with the use of the high-sensitivity fluorescence method of determination of endogeneous porphyrins in the living organism. The ranges of the most probable concentrations of copro- and uroporphyrins in the morning portion of urine were determined for three control groups of healthy humans and six test groups of humans exposed to low radiation doses. It was established that the concentration of endogeneous porphyrins excreted from the organism of adults subjected to the action of ionizing radiation is significantly decreased as compared with the norm and that living for a long time in radionuclidecontaminated territories leads to steady disturbances of porplyrin excretion from the organism. It was also established that the concentration of endogenous porphyrins excreted from the organism of children and adults evacuated from the radionuclide-contaminated zone is significantly increased as compared with the norm.