The fatty acid composition of serum lecithin after pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia.

Using gas-liquid chromatography the relative fatty acid composition of serum lecithin was measured in 22 women, during and after pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia, and the results were compared with those in 21 "normal" puerperal women. The increased values of 22:6 in the linolenic acid series found during pregnancy in women who had pre-eclampsia were also noted in the puerperium and the 22:6 value fell to normal more slowly. This might be due to an enhanced activity of the deacylation-reacylation cycle in this group of patients. All other fatty acids showed a rapid return to normal with values comparable to those of "normal" puerperal women 1 week after delivery. The differences in essential fatty acid distribution between normal and pre-eclamptic women did not seem to have a dietary cause. The prostaglandin precursors (arachidonic and dihomo-gamma-linolenic acids) were not reduced during pre-eclampsia or in the puerperium. Neither breast-feeding nor treatment of hypertension with hydralazine seemed to influence the fatty composition of serum lecithin.