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Fruit and vegetable intake influences the association between exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and a marker of oxidative stress in pregnant women

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 65, pages 1118–1125 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during pregnancy is known to increase oxidative stress, which may influence pregnancy outcomes and health of the child.

Subjects/Methods:

This study investigated whether fruit and vegetable intake modifies the relationship between exposure to PAHs and oxidative stress status during pregnancy. Urinary levels of 2-naphthol and 1-hydroxypyrene (biomarkers of exposure to PAHs), and malondialdehyde (MDA; a biomarker of oxidative stress) were analyzed in 715 pregnant women at 12–28 weeks of gestation. The dietary antioxidant intake during pregnancy was estimated using the 24-h recall method. Urinary 2-naphthol, 1-hydroxypyrene and MDA levels were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography–fluorescence detection.

Results:

The urinary MDA level was positively correlated with the 2-naphthol level (r=0.255, P<0.001) and 1-hydroxypyrene level (r=0.240, P<0.001). Multiple regression analysis after adjustment for covariates revealed that the urinary 1-hydroxypyrene level was positively associated with the MDA level; these positive associations only existed in pregnant women, with either the fruit and vegetable intake or the vitamin C intake in the first tertile (<390.1 g/day) or in the first and second tertiles (<141.5 mg/day), respectively.

Conclusions:

These results suggest that an adequate maternal intake of fruit, vegetables and vitamin C is beneficial to the defense against the oxidative stress associated with exposure to PAHs in pregnant women.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) Project of the Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutritional Science and Food Management, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea

    H Kim & N Chang

  2. Graduate School of Education, Sangmyung University, Seoul, Korea

    J-Y Hwang

  3. Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea

    E-H Ha & H Park

  4. Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea

    M Ha

  5. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, Korea

    S-H Lee

  6. Department of Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Y-C Hong

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  1. H Kim
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Correspondence to N Chang.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Contributors: NC designed the research; HK, EHH, HP, MH, SHL and YCH conducted the research; HK analyzed the data; HK, JYH and NC wrote the manuscript; and NC was primarily responsible for the final content. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Kim, H., Hwang, JY., Ha, EH. et al. Fruit and vegetable intake influences the association between exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and a marker of oxidative stress in pregnant women. Eur J Clin Nutr 65, 1118–1125 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.77

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