Abstract
Objective: To study the changes of plasma fatty acids and lipophilic vitamins during normal pregnancy.
Design: Plasma fatty acid profile and the concentration of carotenoids, tocopherols and retinol were measured in healthy women at the first and third trimesters of pregnancy, at delivery, and in cord blood plasma.
Results: Maternal plasma cholesterol and triglycerides increased from the first to the third trimester of gestation, while free fatty acids progressively increased from the first trimester through the third trimester to delivery, suggesting an enhanced lipolytic activity. Plasma levels of α- and γ-tocopherols, lycopene and β-carotene also progressively increased with gestation, but values in cord blood plasma were lower than in mothers at delivery. Retinol levels declined with gestational time and values in cord blood plasma were even lower. The proportion of total saturated fatty acids increased with gestation, and it further increased in cord blood plasma. Total n-9 fatty acids remained stable throughout pregnancy, and slightly declined in cord blood plasma, the change mainly corresponding to oleic acid. Total n-6 fatty acids declined with gestation and further decreased in cord blood plasma, and a similar trend was found for linoleic acid. However, arachidonic acid declined in women at the third trimester and at delivery as compared to the first trimester, but was enhanced in cord blood plasma. The proportion of total n-3 fatty acids remained stable throughout pregnancy at the expense of decreased α-linolenic acid at delivery but enhanced eicosapentaenoic acid, with small changes in docosahexaenoic acid. The proportion of these n-3 fatty acids was similar in cord blood plasma and maternal plasma at delivery.
Conclusions: Owing to the different placental transfer mechanisms and fetal capability to metabolize some of the transferred fatty acids and lipophilic vitamins, the fetus preserves the essential compounds to assure their appropriate availability to sustain its normal development and to protect itself from the oxidative stress of extrauterine life.
Sponsorship: The studies reported herein have been carried out with financial support from the Commission of the European Communities, specific RTD programme ‘Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources’, QLK1-2001-00138 ‘Influence of Dietary Fatty Acids on the Pathophysiology of Intrauterine Foetal Growth and Neonatal Development’ (PeriLip). It does not necessarily reflect its views and in no way anticipates the Commission's future policy in this area.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Al MDM, Hornstra G, Van der Schouw YT, Bulstra-Ramakers MTEW & Huisjes HJ (1990): Biochemical EFA status of mothers and their neonates after normal pregnancy. Early Hum. Dev. 24, 239–248.
Al MDM, Van Houwelingen AC, Kester ADM, Hasaart THM, De Jong AEP & Hornstra G (1995): Maternal essential fatty acid patterns during normal pregnancy and their relationship to the neonatal essential fatty acid status. Br. J. Nutr. 74, 55–68.
Amusquivar E, Rupérez FJ, Barbas C & Herrera E (2000): Low arachidonic acid rather than α-tocopherol is responsible for the delayed postnatal development in offspring of rats fed fish oil instead of olive oil during pregnancy and lactation. J. Nutr. 130, 2855–2865.
Berghaus TM, Demmelmair H & Koletzko B (2000): Essential fatty acids and their long-chain polyunsaturated metabolites in maternal and cord plasma triglycerides during late gestation. Biol. Neonate 77, 96–100.
Brody T (1994): Vitamins, In Nutritional Biochemistry, ed T Brody, pp 355–484. San Diego: Academic Press, Inc.
Burton GW, Traber MG, Acuff RV, Walters DN, Kayden H, Hughes L & Ingold KU (1998): Human plasma and tissue α-tocopherol concentrations in response to supplementation with deuterated natural and synthetic vitamin E. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 67, 669–684.
Campbell FM, Gordon MJ & Dutta-Roy AK (1996): Preferential uptake of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids by isolated human placental membranes. Mol. Cell. Biochem. 155, 77–83.
Carnielli VP, Wattimena DH, Luijendijk IHT, Boerlage A, Degenhart HJ & Sauer PJJ (1996): The very low birth weight premature infant is capable of synthesizing arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acid from linoeic and linolenic acid. Pediatr. Res. 40, 169–174.
Cetin I, Giovannini N, Alvino G, Agostoni C, Gionannini M & Pardi G (2002): Intrauterine growth restriction is associated with changes in polyunsaturated fatty acid fetal-maternal relationship. Pediatr. Res. 52, 750–755.
Clagett-Dame M & DeLuca HF (2002): The role of vitamin A in mammalian reproduction and embryonic development. Ann. Rev. Nutr. 22, 347–381.
Clagett-Dame M & Plum LA (1997): Retinoid-regulated gene expression in neural development. Crit. Rev. Eukaryot. Gene Exp. 7, 299–342.
Connor WE, Lowensohn R & Hatcher L (1996): Increased docosahexaenoic acid levels in human newborn infants by administration of sardines and fish oil during pregnancy. Lipids 31, S183–S187.
Crastes de Paulet P, Sarda P, Boulot P & Crastes de Paulet A (1992): Fatty acids blood composition in foetal and maternal plasma, In Essential Fatty Acids and Infant Nutrition, eds J Ghisolfi & G Putet, pp 65–77. Paris: John Libbey Eurotext.
Crawford MA, Hassan AG, Williams G & Whitehouse WL (1976): Essential fatty acids and fetal brain growth. Lancet I, 452–453.
Dancis J, Levitz M, Katz J, Wilson D & Blaner WS (1992): Transfer and metabolism of retinol by the perfused human placenta. Pediatr. Res. 32, 195–199.
De Vriese SR, Dhont M & Christophe AB (2001): Oxidative stability of low density lipoproteins and vitamin E levels increase in maternal blood during normal pregnancy. Lipids 36, 361–366.
Demmelmair H, Schenck U, Behrendt E, Sauerwald T & Koletzko B (1995): Estimation of arachidonic acid synthesis in full term neonates using natural variation of 13C-abundance. J. Pediatr. Gastroent. Nutr. 21, 31–36.
Dison PJ, Lockitch G, Halstead AC, Pendray MR, Macnab A & Wittmann BK (1993): Influence of maternal factors on cord and neonatal plasma micronutrient levels. Am. J. Perinatol. 10, 30–35.
Dunlop M & Court JM (1978): Lipogenesis in developing human adipose tissue. Early Hum. Dev. 2, 123–130.
Dutta-Roy AK (1994): Insulin mediated processes in platelets, monocytes/macrophages and erytrocytes: effects of essential fatty acid metabolism. Prostagland. Leukotr. Essent. Fatty Acids 51, 385–399.
Dutta-Roy AK (2000): Transport mechanisms for long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the human placenta. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 71, 315S–322S.
Elinder LS & Walldius G (1992): Simultaneous measurement of serum probucol and lipid-soluble antioxidants. J. Lipid Res. 33, 131–137.
Elliot K & Knight J (1972): Lipids, Malnutrition and the Developing Brain. A Ciba Foundation Symposium. Amsterdam: Elsevier Excerpta Medica.
Elliott JA (1975): The effect of pregnancy on the control of lipolysis in fat cells isolated from human adipose tissue. Eur. J. Clin. Invest. 5, 159–163.
Fidanza F, Gentile MG & Porrini M (1995): A self-administered semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire with optical reading and its concurrent validation. Eur. J. Epidem. 11, 163–170.
Folch J, Lees M & Sloane Stanley GH (1957): A simple method for the isolation and purification of total lipids from animal tissues. J. Biol. Chem. 22, 24–36.
Friedman Z, Danon A, Lamberth EL & Mann WJ (1978): Cord blood fatty acid composition in infants and in their mothers during the third trimester. J. Pediatr. 92, 461–466.
Gazala E, Sarov B, Hershkovitz E, Edvardson S, Sklan D, Katz M, Friger M & Gorodischer R (2003): Retinol concentration in maternal and cord serum: its relation to birth weight in healthy mother-infant pairs. Early Hum. Dev. 71, 19–28.
Godel JC (1989): Vitamin E status of northen Canadian newborns: relation of vitamin E to blood lipids. J. Clin. Nutr. 50, 375–380.
Greiner RCS, Zhang Q, Goodman KJ, Giussani DA, Nathanielsz PW & Brenna JT (1996): Linoleate, α-linolenate, and docosahexaenoate recycling into saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids is a major pathway in pregnant or lactating adults and fetal or infant rhesus monkeys. J. Lipid Res. 37, 2675–2686.
Haggarty P (2002): Placental regulation of fatty acid delivery and its effect on fetal growth—a review. Placenta 23, S28–S38.
Haggarty P, Page K, Abramovich DR, Ashton J & Brown D (1997): Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid transport across the perfused human placenta. Placenta 18, 635–642.
Handelman GJ, Epstein WL, Peerson J, Spiegelman D, Machlin LJ & Dratz EA (1994): Human adipose α-tocopherol and gamma-tocopherol kinetics during and after 1 y of α-tocopherol supplementation. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 59, 1025–1032.
Herrera E (2002): Implications of dietary fatty acids during pregnancy on placental, fetal and postnatal development—A review. Placenta 23, S9–S19.
Hornstra G, Al MDM, Van Houwelingen AC & Foreman-van Drongelen MMHP (1995): Essential fatty acids in pregnancy and early human development. Eur. J.Obstet. Gynecol. Reprod. Biol. 61, 57–62.
Jiang Q, Christen S, Shigenaga MK & Ames BN (2001): Y-Tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in the US diet, deserves more attention. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 74, 714–722.
Johnson L (1998): Vitamin E nutrition in the fetus and newborn, In Fetal and neonatal physiology, eds RA Polin, WW Fox, 2nd edn, pp 425–442. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co.
Kaempf-Rotzoll DE, Igarashi K, Aoki J, Jishage K, Suzuki H, Tamai H, Linderkamp O & Arai H (2002): α-tocopherol transfer protein is specifically localized at the implantation site of pregnant mouse uterus. Biol. Reprod. 67, 599–604.
Kardinaal AFM, Kok FJ, Ringstad J, Gomez-Aracena J, Mazaev VP, Kohlmeier L, Martin BC, Aro A, Kark JD, Delgado-Rodriguez M, Riemersma RA, Van't Veer P, Huttunen JK & Martin-Moreno JM (1993): Antioxidants in adipose tissue and risk of myocardial infarction: the EURAMIC study. Lancet 342, 1379–1384.
Kiely M, Cogan PF, Kearney PJ & Morrissey PA (1999): Concentrations of tocopherols and carotenoids in maternal and cord blood plasma. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 53, 711–715.
Leger CL, Dumontier C, Fouret G, Boulot P & Descomps B (1998): A short-term supplementation of pregnant women before delivery does not improve significantly the vitamin E status of neonates, low efficiency of the vitamin E placental transfer. Int. J. Vitam. Nutr. Res. 68, 293–299.
McCaffery P & Dräger UC (2000): Regulation of retinoic acid signaling in the embryonic nervous system: a master differentiation factor. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. 11, 233–249.
Min Y, Ghebremeskel K, Crawford MA, Nam JH, Kim A, Lee IS & Suzuki H (2001): Maternal-fetal gradient n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids gradient in plasma and red cell phospholipids. Int. J. Vitam. Nutr. Res. 71, 286–292.
Mino M, Kitagawa M & Nakagawa S (1985): Red blood cell tocopherol concentrations in a normal population of Japanese children and premature infants in relation to the assessment of vitamin E status. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 41, 631–638.
Moriss FH, Boyd RDH & Mahendran D (1994): Placental transport, In The Physiology of Reproduction, eds E Knobil & JD Neill, pp 813–861. New York: Raven Press.
Morris JM, Gopaul NK, Endresen MJR, Knight M, Linton EA, Dhir S, Änggård EE & Redman CWG (1998): Circulating markers of oxidative stress are raised in normal pregnancy and pre-eclampsia. Br. J. Obstetr. Gynaecol. 105, 1195–1199.
Muller DPR (1994): Vitamin E and other antioxidants in neurological function and disease, In Natural Antioxidants in Human Health and Disease, ed B Fris, pp 539–547. San Diego, London: Academic Press, Inc.
Olson JA (2001): Vitamin A, In Handbook of Vitamins, eds Bucker RB, Suttie JW, McCormick DB & Machlin LJ, 3rd edn, pp 1–50. New York, Basel: Marcel-Dekker, Inc.
Otto SJ, van Houwelingen AC, Antal M & Manninen M (1997): Maternal and neonatal essential fatty acids status in phospholipids: an international comparative study. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 51, 232–242.
Salem Jr N, Wegher B, Mena P & Uauy R (1996): Arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids are biosynthesized from their 18-carbon precursors in human infants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93, 49–54.
Sato Y, Hagiwara K, Arai H & Inoue K (1991): Purification and characterization of the α-tocopherol protein from rat liver. FEBS Lett. 288, 41–45.
Sauerwald TU, Hachey DL, Jensen CL, Chen H, Anderson RE & Heird WC (1997): Intermediates in endogenous synthesis of C22:6ω3 and C20:4ω6 by term and preterm infants. Pediatr. Res. 41, 183–187.
Schenker S, Yang Y, Perez A, Acuff RV, Papas AM, Henderson G & Lee MP (1998): Antioxidant transport by the human placenta. Clin. Nutr. 17, 159–167.
Sellmayer A, Danesch U & Weber PC (1996): Effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids on growth related early gene expression and cell growth. Lipids 31, S37–S40.
Su HM, Corso TN, Nathanielsz PW & Brenna JT (1999): Linoleic acid kinetics and conversion to arachidonic acid in the pregnant and fetal baboon. J. Lipid Res. 40, 1304–1311.
Su HM, Huang MC, Saad NMR, Nathanielsz PW & Brenna JT (2001): Fetal baboons convert 18:3n-3 to 22:6n-3 in vivo: a stable isotope tracer study. J. Lipid Res. 42, 581–586.
Szitanyi P, Koletzko B, Mydlilova A & Demmelmair H (1999): Metabolism of 13C-labeled linoleic acid in newborn infants during the first week of life. Pediatr. Res. 45, 669–673.
Toescu V, Nuttall SL, Martin U, Kendall MJ & Dunne F (2002): Oxidative stress and normal pregnancy. Clin. Endocrinol. 57, 609–613.
Torma H & Vahlquist A (1986): Uptake of vitamin A and retinol-binding protein by human placenta in vitro. Placenta 7, 295–305.
Traber MG & Arai H (1999): Molecular mechanisms of vitamin E transport. Ann. Rev. Nutr. 19, 343–355.
Uauy-Dagach R & Mena P (1995): Nutritional role of omega-3 fatty acids during the perinatal period. Clin. Perinatol. 22, 157–175.
Uauy R, Mena P, Wegher B, Nieto S & Salem Jr N (2000): Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid formation in neonates: effect of gestational age and intrauterine growth. Pediatr. Res. 47, 127–135.
Uotila JT, Tuimala R, Aarnio T, Pyykko K & Ahotupa M (1991): Lipid peroxidation products, selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase and vitamin E in normal pregnancy. Eur. J. Obstetr. Gynecol. Reprod. Biol. 42, 95–100.
Van Houwelingen AC, Sorensen JD, Hornstra G, Simonis MMG, Boris J, Olsen SF & Secher NJ (1995): Essential fatty acid status in neonates after fish-oil supplementation during late pregnancy. Br. J. Nutr. 74, 723–731.
Yeum KJ, Ferland G, Patry J & Russell RM (1998): Relationship of plasma carotenoids, retinol and tocopherols in mothers and newborn infants. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 17, 442–447.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank the excellent technical assistance of Milagros Morante and to thank Mr Brian Crilly, for his editorial help.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Herrera, E., Ortega, H., Alvino, G. et al. Relationship between plasma fatty acid profile and antioxidant vitamins during normal pregnancy. Eur J Clin Nutr 58, 1231–1238 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601954
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601954
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Changes in the concentrations of biochemical indicators of diet and nutritional status of pregnant women across pregnancy trimesters in Trujillo, Peru, 2004–2005
Nutrition Journal (2013)
-
N-3 Fatty acids modulate antioxidant status in diabetic rats and their macrosomic offspring
International Journal of Obesity (2006)