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Abstract The pregnant mother is exposed to a multitude of chemical agents including drugs, food additives, tobacco, alcohol, caffeine and environmental pollutants. The fetus is connected to the mother by the placenta, through which foreign lipid- soluble chemicals can pass easily. It is widely recognized that placenta is not a barrier for foreign compounds, and thus, it is possible that xenobiotics affect faetal development by causing disturbance in the mother, in the placenta and/ or in the foetus itself. Aromatic amines represent one of the most important classes of occupational or environmental pollutants. They are toxic to most living organisms due to their genotoxic or cytotoxic properties. The aquatic environment makes up the major part of our environment and resources, therefore its safety is directly related to the safety of our health. Fish are excellent subjects for the study of the mutagenic and/or carcinogenic potential of contaminants present in water samples since they can metabolize, concentrate and store waterborne pollutants. Since fish after respond to toxicants in a similar way to higher vertebrates, they can be used to screen for chemicals that are tratogenic and carcinogenic in human. The main application for model systems using fish is to determine the distribution and effects of chemical contaminants in the aquatic environment. The data of the present study revealed that there were an elevation level of the two studied aromatic amines with remarkable variation in the muscle tissue of Saragus saragus and siganous reivulatus. This may be due to food habits and species difference. The causative factors associated with recurrent pregnancy loss can be varied and multiple. In about 50-60% of recurrent pregnancy losses, a causative factor cannot be indentified and are therefore classified as idiopathic. Although, the exposure to environment genotoxic pollutants may participate in the induction of idiopathic spontaneous abortion. Therefore, the present study was endeavoured to detect role of aromatic amines in spontaneous abortion the determination of plasma malondialdehyde as biomarkers for determining oxidative stress and determination of antioxidant activity of catalase and glutathione content. The current study was conducted on 60 women divided into two groups. Group I comprised 20 normal control women with no history of miscarriage. Group II, of 36 women with a history of recurrent abortion. Moreover, the results of the present study demonstrated that the two studied groups of patients had highly significant elevated plasma MDA levels, associated with highly significant decrease in the level of antioxidant level (glutathione & catalase) therefore, the aborter women in this study suffered from oxidative stress and it may be suggested that exposure to many pollutants could enhance lipid peroxidation which may be end in spontaneous abortion. Hence, it may be indicated that lipid peroxidation is an early and sensitive consequence of chemical pollutant exposure, it is postulated that greater elevation of lipid peroxidation markers has been found in pregnancy induced hypertension. Also, a rise in serum lipid peroxide levels before the onset of abortion and significantly lower values after abortion have been observed by Sane et al. The antioxidant status is known to be a physiological barrier against free radical attack in certain body compartments. The tendency of free radicals by way of lipid peroxidation which contribute to the development of destructive processes leads ones attention to antioxidant activity. Although toxic actions of lipid peroxides are opposed by this system, under certain conditions the protective mechanisms may be overwhelmed resulting in oxidative stress of tissues. Other studies have shown reduced plasma levels of ascorbic acid, -tocopherol and red levels of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase in first trimester miscarriage and an increase in markers of lipid peroxidation in women who have had a spontaneous miscarriage. In order to maintain the physiological conditions in body compounds like the care in normal pregnancy, there should be a balance between-pro-oxidant and antioxidant forces. Impairment of this balance which normally favors the antioxidant activity leads the some pathological clinical conditions such as pre-eclampsia and spontaneous abortion also, food habit and poor maternal nutrition during gestation lead to intrauterine fetal growth retardation of the developing organism and is associated with a number of unfavorable out-comes for the offspring. At the time, the life quality of pregnant women corresponded to a very low quality of life, which is characterized by greater exposure to stress. Since the perinatal protection was normally functioning, there was an opportunity to investigate the effects of the so-called “prenatal stress” exclusively as the consequence of fear and social and biological uncertainty. Prenatal stress denotes changes in the levels of adrenalin, plasma epinephrine and hydrocorticosteroids followed by hyperventilation tachycardia and many other upsetting effects registered during pregnancy, both in the mother exposed to stress and fetus. This emotional stress transmits from mother to fetus through hormones. Conclusively placental oxidant-antioxidant imbalance may cause the release of lipoperoxidation products into he circulation, with subsequent damage of endothelial cell membranes in several pathological conditions in pregnancy, e.g., pre-eclampsia, pregnancy-induced diabetes and hypertension. Variation in the tissue antioxidant defense with placental and fetal development seems to modulate lipid peroxidation, an important parameter of oxygen toxicity. In this study, major antioxidant substances in human placental and fetal tissues were measured in order to understand their efficacy in combating oxidative stress with the progress of gestation. Our investigation suggests that the combined scavenging action of the various enzymic and non-enzymic antioxidants matures with gestational age thereby suppressing lipoperoxide formation in the placental and fetal tissues and thus enables the unhindered development of the fetus and parturition of a healthy infant. A possible clinical significance of this work may be that a deviation from the normal values of lipid peroxidation and antioxidants as reported in this study may help to evaluate any level of dysfunction in the feto-placental system leading to the pathogenesis of various pregnancy complications. RECOMMENDATION 1- Antioxidant and vitamins supplementation at optimal doses may be especially beneficial in women with nutritional deficits. 2- Further well-designed and effectively monitored randomized control trials need to be conducted to document the safety and efficacy of vitamin and antioxidant supplementation to prevent pregnancy loss. 3- Avoid malnutrition, emotional stress and intake of polluted foods. |