HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Grandjean, P. Articles by Weihe, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Grandjean, P. Articles by Weihe, P. Agricola Articles by Grandjean, P. Articles by Weihe, P.

Arachidonic acid status during pregnancy is associated with polychlorinated biphenyl exposure^1,2,3

¹ From the Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense (PG and PW); the Departments of Environmental Health and Neurology, Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Boston (PG); and the Faroese Hospital System, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, Denmark (PW).

Background: Seafood is an important source of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs), which are essential for normal growth and development. However, the nutritional benefits could be limited by polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination. In particular, inhibition of desaturase activities by PCBs may affect the maintenance of arachidonic acid (AA) status during development.

Objective: The aim was to evaluate AA status in a birth cohort from a fishing community with a high seafood intake and a wide range of PCB exposures.

Design: We measured LCP concentrations in paired mother and umbilical cord serum samples obtained from 182 consecutive births in the Faroe Islands, where PCB-contaminated whale blubber forms part of the diet. PCB exposure was determined from maternal concentrations.

Results: Serum phospholipid AA concentrations averaged 9.14% and 16.5% (by wt) in maternal and cord serum, respectively. After adjustment for gestational age and concentrations of linoleic, -linolenic, and eicosapentaenoic acids, a decrease in AA concentrations of 0.17% (by wt) (95% CI: 0.03%, 0.31%) and 0.31% (by wt) (95% CI: 0.10%, 0.52%) was seen in maternal and cord serum, respectively, for each doubling of PCB exposure.

Conclusions: Increased PCB exposure was associated with a modest decrease in serum AA concentrations, which is in accordance with the experimental evidence of desaturase inhibition by PCBs. Such interference with LCP utilization could attenuate the beneficial effects of the essential lipids contained in seafood. Because AA is of key importance for growth and development, these results suggest that this possible mechanism for PCB toxicity deserves to be explored.

Key Words: Arachidonic acid • fatty acids • fatty acid desaturases • maternal-fetal exchange • polychlorinated biphenyls • long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids • Faroe Islands

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C King and M Fewtrell Fishing for brain power? Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed., January 1, 2008; 93(1): F4 - F6. [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Grandjean Contaminants in fish oil Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, December 1, 2005; 82(6): 1354 - 1354. [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. B. German, M.-A. Roberts, and S. M. Watkins Personal Metabolomics as a Next Generation Nutritional Assessment J. Nutr., December 1, 2003; 133(12): 4260 - 4266. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]