MATERNAL-FETAL MEDICINE Trace elements and oxidative stress in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy Vanja Fenzl • Zlata Flegar-Mes ˇtric ´ • Sonja Perkov • Luka Andris ˇic ´ • Franz Tatzber • Neven Z ˇ arkovic ´ • Z ˇ eljko Duic ´ Received: 25 March 2012 / Accepted: 24 July 2012 / Published online: 10 August 2012 Ó Springer-Verlag 2012 Abstract Purpose Due to increased metabolic requests, pregnancy can be considered as metabolic stress, especially if associ- ated with oxidative stress triggered by disbalance of pro/ antioxidants. The aim of the study was to determine serum concentrations of the trace elements iron (Fe), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) important in growth regulation and pro/anti- oxidant homeostasis, in relation to the total serum oxidant capacity (TOC) and total serum antioxidant capacity (TAC) in pregnant women with preeclampsia (n = 30) or with gestational hypertension (n = 30) and in healthy pregnant women (n = 37) and non-pregnant women (n = 30) as control groups expecting common differences between all pregnant women and controls and between preeclampsia and the other pregnancies indicating specific disbalance of the oxidative stress and analyzed trace elements. Methods Serum Fe was determined by spectrophotometric method, Cu and Zn were determined by atomic absorp- tion spectrometry, TOC was determined by Enzymatic ANTIOX-CAP assay and TAC by Peroxide-activity assay. Results Serum Cu and TOC were significantly higher while Zn was lower in all pregnant groups regardless of hypertensive disorders. Serum Fe and TAC concentrations were found to be significantly higher in pregnant women with preeclampsia compared to pregnant controls. Conclusion Increase of TOC in all pregnant women our study points to latent oxidative stress in pregnancy. Fe might have a role in etiopathogenesis of preeclampsia while the increase of TAC in the very beginning of pre- eclampsia might represent a stressdefence mechanism of the body. It has still to be revealed whether significantly higher serum Fe levels are associated with preeclampsia as a cause or as a consequence of this disorder. Keywords Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy Á Total oxidant capacity Á Total antioxidant capacity Á Iron Á Copper Á Zinc Introduction Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are one of most important causes of maternal morbidity and mortality as V. Fenzl Á Z ˇ . Duic ´ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital ‘‘Merkur’’, Zajc ˇeva 19, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia V. Fenzl University of Applied Health Studies, Mlinarska Cesta 38, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia V. Fenzl (&) Bijenicka 52, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia e-mail: vanja.radic@inet.hr Z. Flegar-Mes ˇtric ´ Á S. Perkov Institute of Clinical Chemistry, University Hospital ‘‘Merkur’’, Zajc ˇeva 19, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia Z. Flegar-Mes ˇtric ´ Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Zagreb University, Ante Kovac ˇic ´a 1, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia L. Andris ˇic ´ Á N. Z ˇ arkovic ´ Division of Molecular Medicine, Rud¯er Bos ˇkovic ´ Institute, Bijenic ˇka 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia F. Tatzber Department of Biochemical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences, Technikum Wien, Hoechstaedtplatz 5, 1200 Vienna, Austria Z ˇ . Duic ´ Faculty of Medicine, Rijeka University, Brac ´e Branchetta 20, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia 123 Arch Gynecol Obstet (2013) 287:19–24 DOI 10.1007/s00404-012-2502-4