SUMMARY
Hypertension is one of the most prevalent diseases of the world and is an unequivocal risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Hypertension is known to be associated with oxidative stress. The enzyme paraoxonase being antiatherogenic and sensitive to oxidative stress was intriguing in hypertensives. This study was conducted with objectives to determine paraoxonase activity in primary hypertension and to correlate paraoxonase activity to oxidative stress in primary hypertension. In this study there were a total of 60 male subjects which included 30 healthy males as controls and 30 male primary hypertensives without complications of hypertension or any other underlying medical disorder as cases. Our study revealed that serum paraoxonase activity was significantly reduced in hypertensives when compared to controls. Correlation between serum paraoxonase and malondialdehyde with routine biochemistry parameters in both hypertensives and controls was not found to be significant. This study indicated that assessment of serum paraoxonase activity can serve as a predictive factor for atherosclerotic complications in primary hypertensives where oxidative stress is implicated.