Selenium content and glutathione peroxidase activity in the plasma and erythrocytes of non-pregnant and pregnant women.

Decreases in the glutathione peroxidase activity and in the selenium content were found in the plasma of pregnant women as compared with a control group. In the erythrocytes, both parameters remained unchanged. In both groups a fraction of about 0.90 of the glutathione peroxidase in the blood, was contained in the erythrocytes, whereas the selenium was nearly evenly distributed between plasma and red blood cells. A positive correlation existed between the total amount of selenium in the erythrocytes and that in the plasma.