Serum silicon concentrations in pregnant women and newborn babies

Earlier studies in animals have suggested an essential role for Si in connective tissues, but such works have not been replicated per se. Nonetheless, a study conducted in 2000 has reported that Si may be essential during pregnancy for the growing fetus, since serum Si concentrations in infants were approximately 300% higher than those in older children and adults and serum Si concentrations in pregnant women were approximately 300% lower than those in age-matched non-pregnant controls. To reproduce these potentially important findings, in the present study, serum Si concentrations were measured in fourteen pregnant women (15-24 weeks of gestation) and compared with those of seventeen non-pregnant, non-lactating female controls. Serum Si concentrations were also measured in fourteen full-term mothers at the time of delivery and in the umbilical cord (UC) vein and artery where possible. Fasting serum Si concentrations in pregnant women were not significantly different from those of the female controls and showed little change with advancing gestation (r 0.2). Mean serum Si concentrations in the UC vein samples were 52% higher, while those in the UC artery samples were 235% higher than those in the maternal forearm vein samples, although data were widely spread and differences were not significant. Mean maternal forearm vein Si concentrations at delivery were 50% lower than those of pregnant women and female controls, but, again, these were not significant. Overall, we note that there are significant analytical challenges in comparing baseline Si levels between different groups; notwithstanding, our findings cannot confirm a reduction in fasting serum Si levels during pregnancy, but, equally, we cannot rule out higher serum Si levels in newborns than in their mothers, and further work is required.