Role of adiponectin on antioxidant profile: evaluation during healthy and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

The study of adipokines and oxidative stress has aided in understanding pre-eclampsia physiopathology. Therefore, our group aimed to evaluate the correlation between the adipokines (adiponectin and leptin) and the oxidative stress marker malondialdehyde–thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (MDA-TBARS) and antioxidant activity of plasma [ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP)] in healthy pregnant women and patients with gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia. We found a significant negative correlation between MDA-TBARS and adiponectin (r = –0.40, p = 0.0042), suggesting a relationship between antioxidant levels and this adipokine in healthy pregnancies which is altered in patients with gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia.