title: Attempts at dietary alteration of prostaglandin pathways in the management of pre-eclampsia.
abstract: It has been suggested that dietary supplementation with prostaglandin precursors may enhance the synthesis of PGE which lowers vascular sensitivity to increased levels of angiotensin II in pregnancy. Therefore the effect of dietary supplementation with evening primrose oil (linoleic acid and gamma-linoleic acid) in African primigravidae with established pre-eclampsia was studied. Patients were randomly allocated to one of two groups. Group A (23 patients) received 8 capsules/day of evening primrose oil and group B (24 patients) received 8 capsules of placebo. No significant differences were found between the groups in respect to perinatal outcome, blood pressure lowering effect and haematological indices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Natal, South Africa.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moodley
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Norman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D004032:Diet; D005228:Fatty Acids, Essential / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008041:Linoleic Acids; D031665:Oenothera biennis; D010938:Plant Oils; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D017965:gamma-Linolenic Acid
chemical_list: D005228:Fatty Acids, Essential; D008041:Linoleic Acids; D010938:Plant Oils; C028498:evening primrose oil; D017965:gamma-Linolenic Acid