Oxidative stress in pre-eclampsia

Background. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that maternal plasma, cord plasma and placental tissue lipid peroxidation products are increased and antioxidants are decreased in women with pre‐eclampsia. Methods. Placenta, maternal and cord plasma were collected at delivery from 29 normal, 21 pre‐eclamptic and six eclamptic women. Plasma was collected from 21 non‐pregnant matched controls. The analyses were measured by HPLC and colorimetric assay. Results. Plasma maternal concentrations of uric acid, LPO, MDA, ascorbic acid, vitamin E and cholesterol were not significantly different in pre‐eclampsia as compared with normal pregnancy. Plasma concentrations of ascorbic acid and vitamin E were not significantly different in normal pregnancy as compared with the non‐pregnant controls. Cord plasma concentrations of MDA were significantly higher in eclampsia (1.16±0.26 μmol/l) as compared with normal pregnancy (0.79±0.05 μmol/l, p