The profiles of lipid peroxidation and anti-oxidant activities in gestational diabetes mellitus & normal pregnancies in Nigerian population

Purpose: To compare the Lipid peroxidation and Total antioxidant status in women with gestational diabetes mellitus and normal pregnancy in our environment. Materials & Methods: This was a 2-year, cross sectional, case control study of 25 gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and 75 matched normal pregnant women at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Nigeria. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by our Institutional Ethical Review Committee and all participants gave their consents. The fasting serum of recruited patients were analysed for lipid peroxidetion product malondialdehyde(MDA), based on MDA reaction with thiobarbituric acid (TBA), with rapid, sensitive and specific Thiobarbituric Acid (TBA) assay, while the Total Anti-oxidant status (TAS) was determined using the capacity of the biological fluids to inhibit the production of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) from sodium benzoate under the influence of the free oxygen radicals derived from Fenton’s reaction. Results: The mean serum MDA was significantly higher in the GDM group (3.64 nmol/mL) than the value recorded (1.33 nmol/ mL) in the control group (P < 0.0001). Conversely, significantly lower mean TAS (0.34 nmol/mL vs. 0.66 nmol/mL) was noticed in the GDM group (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: The study showed significant increase in lipid peroxidation and failure of compensatory antioxidant functions in GDM Nigerian women.