Relationships between docosahexaenoic acid compositions of maternal and umbilical cord erythrocytes in pregnant Japanese women

This study was performed as an adjunct study of the Japan Environment and Children's Study. DHA compositions of maternal erythrocytes at 24-30 weeks of pregnancy and of umbilical cord erythrocytes at delivery were determined in 1368 mother-infant pairs. Median DHA values were 7.41% in the maternal erythrocytes and 6.84% in the umbilical cord erythrocytes, indicating significantly lower levels in the umbilical cord. When DHA composition in maternal erythrocytes was lower than 6.6%, DHA was theoretically higher in umbilical cord erythrocytes than in maternal erythrocytes. Conversely, when DHA composition in maternal erythrocytes was higher than 6.6%, DHA in umbilical cord erythrocytes was theoretically lower than in maternal erythrocytes. We therefore consider that there is a turning point of around 6% in the DHA composition of maternal and umbilical cord blood that is exchanged between mother and fetus: if the composition in the maternal blood is higher, then bioattenuation in DHA transfer from the maternal circulation to the umbilical cord occurs, while if it is lower, then biomagnification occurs. This corroborates the findings of previous research.
Source: Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA) - Category: Lipidology Source Type: research