Objectives: To determine the levers of tocopherols, retinol and carotenoids
in maternal and umbilical cord blood plasma and to investigate the relatio
nships between them.
Design: Venous blood plasma concentrations of alpha, gamma and delta-tocoph
erol, retinol, lutein, lycopene, zeaxanthin, beta-cryptoxanthin, alpha and
beta-carotene were determined by HPLC in healthy pregnant women and in pair
-matched umbilical cords. Plasma levels of triglycerides and cholesterol we
re also measured.
Subjects: Sixty-six women, between 10 and 20 weeks gestation, were recruite
d randomly during their first antenatal appointment. From this group, 40 pa
ir-matched umbilical cord blood samples were obtained.
Results: Tocopherols, retinol, carotenoids and lipids were present in signi
ficantly higher (P < 0.001) concentrations in maternal plasma than in cord
plasma. There was a significant correlation (r = 0.45, P < 0.005) between m
aternal and cord levels of gamma-tocopherol, but not of alpha-tocopherol, r
etinol or carotenoids. Tocopherols and carotenoids were significantly corre
lated with each other (P < 0.05) in maternal and cord plasma.
Conclusions: Plasma levels of tocopherols, carotenoids and lipids are subst
antially lower at birth than in adulthood. There is a clear relationship be
tween gamma-tocopherol levels in maternal and cord plasma. The importance o
f gamma-tocopherol in human nutrition should be further investigated. There
are no significant relationships between plasma alpha-tocopherol and carot
enoids in pregnant mothers and cords. More research is needed to elucidate
the maternal-foetal transfer of tocopherols and carotenoids, and to examine
the impact of maternal antioxidant nutrient status on neonatal antioxidant
capacity. It is important to determine ifa low level of tocopherols and ca
rotenoids at birth is a normal stage of human development or indicative of
deficiency.