Arachidonic acid status during pregnancy is associated with polychlorinated biphenyl exposure

Seafood is an important source of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs), which are essential for normal growth and development. However, the nutritional benefits could be limited by polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination. In particular, inhibition of desaturase activities by PCBs may affect the maintenance of arachidonic acid (AA) status during development.

The aim was to evaluate AA status in a birth cohort from a fishing community with a high seafood intake and a wide range of PCB exposures.

We measured LCP concentrations in paired mother and umbilical cord serum samples obtained from 182 consecutive births in the Faroe Islands, where PCB-contaminated whale blubber forms part of the diet. PCB exposure was determined from maternal concentrations.

Serum phospholipid AA concentrations averaged 9.14% and 16.5% (by wt) in maternal and cord serum, respectively. After adjustment for gestational age and concentrations of linoleic, alpha-linolenic, and eicosapentaenoic acids, a decrease in AA concentrations of 0.17% (by wt) (95% CI: 0.03%, 0.31%) and 0.31% (by wt) (95% CI: 0.10%, 0.52%) was seen in maternal and cord serum, respectively, for each doubling of PCB exposure.

Increased PCB exposure was associated with a modest decrease in serum AA concentrations, which is in accordance with the experimental evidence of desaturase inhibition by PCBs. Such interference with LCP utilization could attenuate the beneficial effects of the essential lipids contained in seafood. Because AA is of key importance for growth and development, these results suggest that this possible mechanism for PCB toxicity deserves to be explored.