title: Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Levels in Maternal  Erythrocytes of Japanese Women during Pregnancy  and after Childbirth.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The transport of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), such as arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4n-6) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3), to the fetus from maternal stores increases depending on the fetal requirements for PUFA during the last trimester of pregnancy. Therefore, maternal blood PUFA changes physiologically with gestational age. However, the changes in PUFA levels in maternal blood erythrocytes during pregnancy and after childbirth have not been fully investigated in a fish-eating population.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the changes of ARA and DHA levels in maternal erythrocytes with the progress of pregnancy and the relationship between maternal and umbilical cord erythrocyte PUFA levels in pregnant Japanese women who habitually eat fish and shellfish.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was performed as a part of the adjunct study of the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS). The participants were 74 pregnant women. The maternal blood samples were collected at 27, 30, and 36 weeks of pregnancy, and 2 days and 1 month after delivery, and umbilical cord blood was collected at delivery. The fatty acid levels of erythrocytes in these blood samples were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ARA and DHA levels in maternal erythrocytes tended to decrease with the progress of pregnancy. While the DHA level decreased further after delivery, the ARA level returned to the value at 27 weeks of pregnancy within 1 month after delivery. The n-3 and n-6 PUFA levels in maternal erythrocytes at 27, 30, and 36 weeks of pregnancy were significantly positively correlated with the corresponding fatty acid levels in umbilical cord erythrocytes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings showed a significant change in erythrocyte PUFA levels during pregnancy and after childbirth in a fish-eating population. The PUFA levels of maternal blood after the second trimester may be a reliable marker for predicting PUFA levels in infants' circulating blood.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nutrition, Kagawa Nutrition University, 3-9-21 Chiyoda, Sakado, Saitama 350-0288, Japan. kawabata@eiyo.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Terue
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawabata
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nutrition, Kagawa Nutrition University, 3-9-21 Chiyoda, Sakado, Saitama 350-0288, Japan. kagawa@eiyo.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kagawa
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Comprehensive Human Sciences, Shokei Gakuin University, 4-10-1 Yurigaoka, Natori, Miyagi 981-1295, Japan. miyazawa@m.tohoku.ac.jp.|Food and Biodynamic Chemistry Laboratory, Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Tohoku University, 468-1 aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-0845, Japan. miyazawa@m.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Fumiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.affiliation: Food and Biodynamic Chemistry Laboratory, Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Tohoku University, 468-1 aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-0845, Japan. miyazawa@m.tohoku.ac.jp.|New Industry Creation Hatchery Center (NICHe), Tohoku University, 6-6-10 aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aobaku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8579, Japan. miyazawa@m.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Teruo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyazawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryomachi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan. shojisaiko5324@yahoo.co.jp.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yamagata Prefectural Central Hospital, 1800 Ooaza-Aoyagi, Yamagata-shi, Yamagata 990-2292, Japan. shojisaiko5324@yahoo.co.jp.
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Department of Informative Genetics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan. tarima@med.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arima
authors.affiliation: Department of Development and Environmental Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan. nakaik@med.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakai
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryomachi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan. yaegashi@med.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yaegashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D044466:Asian People; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D004032:Diet; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000097:blood*; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000378:metabolism; D005399:Fishes; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007564:Japan; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second / Q000097:blood; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third / Q000097:blood; D017747:Seafood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid
keywords: pregnancy;   arachidonic acid (ARA);   docosahexaenoic  acid  (DHA);   polyunsaturated  fatty  acid  (PUFA);  Japanese