The paper describes the effect of glucocorticoide dexamethasone (DM) given intraperitoneally on the catalytic activity of butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) measured in plasma, liver and white adipose tissue of rats of both sexes. Effects of DM on the concentration of plasma lipids and lipoproteins were also tested. Rats were given multiple (2 and 4) pharmacological doses (0.4 and 3.0 mg kg-1 body mass) of DM. All animals were sacrificed 48 h after the last dose. Administration of DM significantly decreased the catalytic activity of BuChE in plasma and liver of all treated groups regardless of sex. BuChE catalytic activity in white adipose tissue differed depending on the dose and frequency of administration. In contrast to liver where both doses caused significant BuChE inhibition, the lower DM dose did not inhibit BuChE activity in adipose tissue, and the inhibition achieved by the higher dose was not as strong as in liver. This result corroborates an earlier hypothesis that BuChE is also synthesized in the adipose tissue. DM significantly increased plasma concentrations of triglycerides, total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and decreased the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentration. Neither positive correlation between BuChE and triglycerides nor negative correlation between BuChE and HDL was found. Changes in lipid profile during DM treatment were not sex- and time-dependent.U radu su opisani učinci glukokortikoida deksametazona (DM) na katalitičku aktivnost butirilkolinesteraze (BuChE) u plazmi, jetri i bijelom masnom tkivu štakora oba spola. Ispitan je i učinak DM na koncentracije plazmatskih lipida i lipoproteina. Štakori su tretirani višekratno (2 i 4 puta) farmakološkim dozama (0,4 i 3,0 mg kg–1 tjelesne mase) DM koji je primijenjen intraperitonealno. Životinje su žrtvovane 48 sati nakon što su primile zadnju dozu. Utvrđeno je da DM značajno snižava katalitičku aktivnost BuChE u plazmi i jetri štakora oba spola. Rezultati katalitičkih aktivnosti BuChE u bijelom masnom tkivu bili su različiti ovisno o veličini doze i broju aplikacija. Za razliku od jetre, gdje su obje doze izazvale značajnu inhibiciju BuChE, u masnom tkivu niža doza nije inhibirala aktivnost enzima, a inhibicija s višom dozom nije bila tako snažna kao u jetri. Rezultati govore u prilog hipotezi da se BuChE osim u jetri sintetizira i u masnom tkivu. Također je utvrđeno da DM značajno povećava koncentraciju triglicerida, ukupnog kolesterola i HDL-kolesterola, te smanjuje koncentraciju LDL-kolesterola u plazmi. Međutim, nije utvrđena pozitivna korelacija između BuChE i triglicerida, niti negativna korelacija između BuChE i HDL. Promjene koncentracija lipidnih frakcija tijekom primjene DM nisu ovisile o spolu eksperimentalnih životinja niti o trajanju pokusa
