Nutritional composition and heavy metal content of the human placenta

Sydney Chang; Laura Lodico; Zev Williams

doi:10.1016/j.placenta.2017.07.013

Nutritional composition and heavy metal content of the human placenta

Placenta. 2017 Dec:60:100-102. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2017.07.013. Epub 2017 Jul 27.

Authors

Sydney Chang¹, Laura Lodico¹, Zev Williams²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women's Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, 10461, United States.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, United States. Electronic address: zw2421@cumc.columbia.edu.

PMID: 28851560
DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2017.07.013

Abstract

Despite the vital and diverse roles of the placenta, remarkably little is known about its actual composition. Moreover, as placentophagy becomes increasingly popular, understanding the nutritional and heavy metal composition of the human placenta has practical implications. Here we evaluated the carbohydrate, sugar, protein, fat, cholesterol, vitamin, and heavy metal composition of the human placenta from uncomplicated singleton pregnancies and found that it contains a significant amount of cholesterol, protein, iron, and selenium, but no detectable levels of cadmium, arsenic, or mercury.

Keywords: Alternative health; Human placenta; Nutritional composition; Placentophagy.

MeSH terms

Adult
Female
Humans
Metals, Heavy / analysis*
Nutritive Value*
Placenta / chemistry*
Pregnancy
Young Adult

Substances

Metals, Heavy