B-Carotene concentrations in maternal and cord blood of smokers and non-smokers Silmara Salete de Barros Silva a , Patricia Helen de Carvalho Rondo´ a, * , Gilmar Sidnei Erzinger b a Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of Sa˜o Paulo, Av. Dr. Arnaldo 715, Cerqueira Ce´sar, Sa˜o Paulo, SP CEP-01246-904, Brazil b School of Pharmacy, University of Joinville Region, Brazil Accepted 12 August 2004 Abstract Background: Smoking in pregnancy can cause a reduction in the transport of h- carotene across the placenta, consequently reflecting on the concentrations of this micronutrient in the newborn baby. Aims : This study determined the concentrations of h-carotene in maternal blood and umbilical cord blood in a group of smokers and non-smokers. Design and subjects : A total of 215 women and respective newborn babies were selected from a hospital in Joinville city, Brazil, between July and November 2002. Women were divided in two groups according to their smoking habits. h-Carotene concentration was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The difference between mean concentrations of h-carotene in maternal blood and cord blood, in smokers and non-smokers, was determined by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The Student’s t -test compared mean concentrations of h-carotene in maternal blood and cord blood, and the mean ingestion of foods rich in h-carotene by smokers and non-smokers. Results : There was a statistical significant difference between the concentrations of h-carotene in maternal blood (S=0.271 Amol/L, NS=0.450 Amol/L; P=0.001) and cord blood (S=0.028 Amol/L, NS=0.045 Amol/L; P=0.001) in smokers (S) and non-smokers (NS). The mean concentration of h-carotene was significantly higher in maternal blood (0.398 Amol/L) than in cord blood (0.041 Amol/L) ( Pb0.001). The intake of foods rich in h-carotene was lower in smokers, than in non-smokers ( P=0.04). 0378-3782/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2004.08.003 * Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +55 11 3066 7771. E-mail address: phcrondo@usp.br (P.H. de Carvalho Rondo ´). KEYWORDS h-carotene; Smoking; Mothers; Umbilical cord; Newborn babies Early Human Development (2005) 81, 313—317 www.elsevier.com/locate/earlhumdev