Abstract
Essential and non-essential elements deficiencies may lead to various birth complications. The aim of this paper was to determine calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), phosphorus (P), lead (Pb), strontium (Sr), and zinc (Zn) concentrations in maternal blood and cord blood. Whole blood and cord blood samples collected from pregnant women (n = 136) were analyzed for the concentration of the elements by spectrophotometric atomic absorption in inductively coupled argon plasma (ICP-OES). The results showed that Ca, Pb, and Sr concentrations were similar in maternal and cord blood, while Fe and K levels were higher in cord blood than in maternal blood. The cord blood Cu, Na, and Zn concentrations were lower than those in maternal blood, suggesting transplacental transfer of these elements were limited. Moreover, checking the influence of studied elements on the anthropometric parameters of the newborns, we found that the highest number of associations was between Cu in cord blood. Due to the fact that the pregnant women were healthy, and the newborns were without any disorders, we suggest that the values obtained in our study are normal values of studied elements in whole blood and cord blood in patients from Poland.
Highlights
It has been reported that some xenobiotics, including toxic metals, that have harmful effects on the health of the pregnant woman can pose a similar or even greater risk to the fetus due to its physiological immaturity [1]
We studied the influence of tobacco smoking, dental amalgams, vitamin supplementation, and fish and seafood consumption on the concentration of studied elements in the maternal and cord blood
We found statistically significant higher concentrations of Zn and Fe in the maternal blood of females who confirmed smoking tobacco compared to non-smokers (Zn: 4.23 vs. 2.95 mg/L; Fe: 228.59 vs. 171.08 mg/L)
Summary
It has been reported that some xenobiotics, including toxic metals, that have harmful effects on the health of the pregnant woman can pose a similar or even greater risk to the fetus due to its physiological immaturity [1]. The placenta has the important function of permeating substances from the maternal system to the fetus [2]. The most important parameters determining transplacental transport are the physicochemical properties of the substance, the physiological state of the placental tissue, and maternal and fetal placental circulation. Blood flow is reduced, which can result in the retention and accumulation of xenobiotics in the fetus. This is due to the inability of the substance to return through the placenta to the maternal circulation [3].
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