Abstract
The change in tocopherol level in red blood cells (RBC) as an index for vitamin E status was studied in relation to that in tocopherols and lipids in plasma during pregnancy. During gestation plasma tocopherol levels increased gradually and significantly in agreement with our previous reports. The changes depended on the changes total lipids in plasma, among which an increase in triglycerides was most predominant. A similar increase was shown in low density lipoprotein levels, while HDL-cholesterol did not significantly change. The ratio of plasma tocopherol to plasma total lipids which has been proposed as a best index for vitamin E status by Horwitt, remained unchanged during gestation, while RBC tocopherol levels rather decreased during the last trimester. The result indicates that tissue tocopherol available for biological function in biomembranes may decrease by the hyperlipemia during gestation, as shown in RBC tocopherol change.
