Concentrations of Zinc, Cobalt, Bromine, Rubidium and Gold in Maternal and Cord Blood Serum

Abstract

Concentrations of zinc, cobalt, bromine, rubidium and gold have been determined by neutron activation analysis in 18 maternal and umbilical cord blood sera as well as in 7 healthy non-pregnant women who served as controls. The concentrations of essential trace elements (zinc and cobalt) were significantly lower while levels of non-essential trace elements were similar (bromine and rubidium) or increased (gold) in sera of pregnant as compared to sera of non-pregnant women. The mean value of zinc in the umbilical cord was 1.9 times higher than that of mothers. However, no correlation exists between the values of zinc in maternal and umbilical cord blood sera. These data support the hypothesis that zinc is actively transported from mother to fetus through the placenta.

Amniotic fluid zinc and copper and neural tube defects

“…Our trace metal results for both amniotic fluid and serum are in a similar range to those found in previous studies (Markowitz et al, 1955;Borglin and Heijkenskjold, 1967;Nusbaum and Zettner, 1973;Prasad et al, 1974;Alexiou et al, 1976;Jameson, 1976;Brandes et a/., 1980). The results in one recent study (Chez et al, 1978) of zinc and copper in amniotic fluid are in a similar range to our normals, but include 3 cases of high zinc concentrations at 20-22 weeks maturity; no mention is made of fetal or neonatal outcome in these cases, but the series included a large number of samples from rhesus-sensitized pregnancies, which we excluded from our study.…”

Nutrition and Pregnancy

“…Recent studies have shown that, in contrast with other minerals, such as cobalt, bromine, rubidium, and gold, with similar maternal and cord blood concentrations, the concentration of zinc is almost twice as high in the cord blood than the maternal blood (Alexiou et al, 1976). As previously discussed, such a concentration gradient is compatible with the existence of active placental mechanisms for the transfer of zinc.…”