Alkaline ribonuclease activity in plasma and leucocytes of malnourished women.

Alkaline RNase activity was measured in plasma and leucocytes of pregnant and non-pregnant women belonging to low and high socio-economic groups. It was observed that the enzyme activities were significantly higher in pregnant as well as non-pregnant women of the low socio-economic group as compared to women of the high socio-economic group. There was no correlation between the enzyme activities in maternal or cord blood on the one hand and birth weight of the infants on the other. These results suggest that RNase activities in maternal blood reflect the nutritional status of the mother but not that of the fetus.