[Bases to determine the dose of vitamin C in pregnancy]

Abstract

Objective: Determine the dose of Vitamin C able to maintain a leukocyte Vitamin C concentration of > or =18 microg/10(8) cells, in pregnant women with 28 to 32 weeks of gestation, in order to compile a database to estimate the daily recommended intake (DRI) during pregnancy.

Methodology: Stage 1: acute supplementation study. A group of 10 healthy women in late first and early second trimester pregnancy were supplemented with 0 to 200 mg vitamin C/day during one week each. Stage 2: a randomized double blind study (placebo vs. vitamin C [100 mg/d]) was carried out with 52 women studied from week 20 to week 32 of pregnancy. Their plasma and leukocyte vitamin C concentrations were measured every 4 weeks to evaluate the previously established supplementation dose.

Results: Stage 1: with the 100 mg/day dose, leukocyte vitamin C saturation was reached without increasing urinary excretion. Stage 2: leukocyte concentration of vitamin C decreased throughout pregnancy in women receiving placebo, while supplemented women maintained their concentrations > or =18 microg/10(8) cells.

Conclusion: A 100 mg/day dose of vitamin C during the second half of pregnancy keeps leukocyte storage and could be useful to establish the DRI of Vitamin C during pregnancy.