Perinatal development of iron and antioxidant defence systems.

The time course of malondialdehyde (MDA), Fe, vitamin E, superoxide dismutase (Cu, Zn-SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) was measured in serum, liver, kidney and heart from rats between day 17 of gestation and day 20 after birth. MDA was higher in fetal than maternal tissues and showed a transient increase after birth. The low maternal MDA levels were reached later than 3 weeks after birth. Fe was higher in fetal than in maternal serum and liver. Five days after birth Fe drastically dropped in these tissues. The antioxidant factors vitamin E, Cu, Zn-SOD and GSH-Px were low in fetal tissues and rose after birth. It is discussed whether lipid peroxidation is increased in fetal tissues because of less-developed antioxidant defence mechanisms.