Publications

This study examines physical growth and nutritional status in a sample of 478 (247 males; 231 females) Evenki herders of Central Siberia. The Evenki display slow growth in stature and body weight, particularly during late childhood and adolescence. Adult males fall below the U.S. 5th percentiles for both stature and body weight. Adult females are below the 5th percentile for stature and approximate the 15th percentile for weight. Despite their diminutive size, the Evenki appear to have adequate energy reserves, as indicated by their skinfold measurements, which range between the U.S. 15th and 50th percentiles. Among adults, women are relatively heavier and fatter than men and tend to increase in weight and fatness with age. Poor growth in the Evenki does not appear to be directly attributable to limited food availability. Rather, it is hypothesized that elevated metabolic requirements, associated with adaptation to a high latitude ecosystem, are responsible for limiting the amount of energy that is allocated to growth. Relatively high levels of adiposity in adult females appear to be the product of changes in activity patterns and fertility levels that resulted after the collectivization of the Evenki. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Anandamide (arachidonylethanolamide) has been identified as a brain constituent that selectively binds to the cannabinoid receptor and possesses cannabimimetic activity. Cytochromes P450 catalyze the oxidation of arachidonic acid to several metabolites possessing very potent pharmacological activity. We examined whether P450 would also metabolize anandamide, and whether cannabidiol (a cannabinoid which inactivates several P450s) would affect this metabolism. Mouse hepatic P450s were found to metabolize anandamide to at least 10 different metabolites, four of which were characterized by mass spectrometry. Cannabidiol selectively inhibited the formation of two of these four anandamide metabolites. The significance of anandamide metabolism remains to be explored.