In vitro inhibition of digestive enzymes by heavy metals and their reversal by chelating agent: Part I. Mercuric chloride intoxication.

The effect of mercury on alkaline phosphatase, lipase, aminotripeptidase and glycylglycine dipeptidase in the liver and digestive tract of Channa punctatus is investigated in vitro. Mercury inhibits the activities of all these enzymes and the degree of inhibition increases with the increase in the concentration of the metal. Addition of EDTA, a chelating agent, restored the mercury inhibited enzyme activity and the degree of restoration was related to the concentration of the chelating agent.