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Zinc absorption from biofortified maize meets the requirements of young rural Zambian children.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The zinc content of maize, a major global food staple, is generally insufficient alone to meet the requirements of young children. OBJECTIVES:The primary objective of this study was to determine whether substitution of biofortified maize (34 ?g zinc/g grain) for control maize (21 ?g zinc/g) was adequate to meet zinc physiologic requirements in young children for whom maize was the major food staple. A secondary objective was to compare total daily zinc absorption when maize flour was fortified with zinc oxide to a total concentration of 60 ?g zinc/g. METHODS:Participants included 60 rural Zambian children with a mean age of 29 mo who were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 3 maize types (control, biofortified, or fortified) all of which were readily consumed (>100 g on 1 d). Total daily zinc intake (from maize and low-zinc relish) was determined from duplicate diet collections. Multiplication by fractional absorption of zinc, measured by a dual isotope ratio technique, determined the total daily zinc absorption on the day the test meals were given. RESULTS:The mean ± SD total daily zinc intake (milligrams per day) from the biofortified maize (5.0 ± 2.2) was higher (P < 0.0001) than for the control maize (2.3 ± 0.9). Intake of zinc from the fortified maize (6.3 ± 2.6) did not differ from the biofortified maize. Fractional absorption of zinc from control maize (0.28 ± 0.10) did not differ from the biofortified maize (0.22 ± 0.06). Total daily absorption of zinc (milligrams per day) from the biofortified maize (1.1 ± 0.5) was higher (P = 0.0001) than for the control maize (0.6 ± 0.2), but did not differ from the fortified maize (1.2 ± 0.4). CONCLUSIONS:These results indicate that feeding biofortified maize can meet zinc requirements and provide an effective dietary alternative to regular maize for this vulnerable population. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02208635.

SUBMITTER: Chomba E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4770937 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Zinc absorption from biofortified maize meets the requirements of young rural Zambian children.

Chomba Elwyn E Westcott Claire M CM Westcott Jamie E JE Mpabalwani Evans M EM Krebs Nancy F NF Patinkin Zachary W ZW Palacios Natalia N Hambidge K Michael KM

The Journal of nutrition 20150121 3

<h4>Background</h4>The zinc content of maize, a major global food staple, is generally insufficient alone to meet the requirements of young children.<h4>Objectives</h4>The primary objective of this study was to determine whether substitution of biofortified maize (34 μg zinc/g grain) for control maize (21 μg zinc/g) was adequate to meet zinc physiologic requirements in young children for whom maize was the major food staple. A secondary objective was to compare total daily zinc absorption when m ...[more]

PMID: 25733467

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Biofortification is a strategy to relieve vitamin A (VA) deficiency. Biofortified maize contains enhanced provitamin A concentrations and has been bioefficacious in animal and small human studies. OBJECTIVE:The study sought to determine changes in total body reserves (TBRs) of vitamin A with consumption of biofortified maize. DESIGN:A randomized, placebo-controlled biofortified maize efficacy trial was conducted in 140 rural Zambian children. The paired (13)C-retinol isotope dilution test, a sensitive biomarker for VA status, was used to measure TBRs before and after a 90-d intervention. Treatments were white maize with placebo oil (VA-), orange maize with placebo (orange), and white maize with VA in oil [400 ?g retinol activity equivalents (RAEs) in 214 ?L daily] (VA+). RESULTS:In total, 133 children completed the trial and were analyzed for TBRs (n = 44 or 45/group). Change in TBR residuals were not normally distributed (P < 0.0001); median changes (95% CI) were as follows: VA-, 13 (-19, 44) ?mol; orange, 84 (21, 146) ?mol; and VA+, 98 (24, 171) ?mol. Nonparametric analysis showed no statistical difference between VA+ and orange (P = 0.34); both were higher than VA- (P = 0.0034). Median (95% CI) calculated liver reserves at baseline were 1.04 (0.97, 1.12) ?mol/g liver, with 59% >1 ?mol/g, the subtoxicity cutoff; none were <0.1 ?mol/g, the deficiency cutoff. The calculated bioconversion factor was 10.4 ?g ?-carotene equivalents/1 ?g retinol by using the middle 3 quintiles of change in TBRs from each group. Serum retinol did not change in response to intervention (P = 0.16) but was reduced with elevated C-reactive protein (P = 0.0029) and ?-1-acid glycoprotein (P = 0.0023) at baseline. CONCLUSIONS:?-Carotene from maize was efficacious when consumed as a staple food in this population and could avoid the potential for hypervitaminosis A that was observed with the use of preformed VA from supplementation and fortification. Use of more sensitive methods other than serum retinol alone, such as isotope dilution, is required to accurately assess VA status, evaluate interventions, and investigate the interaction of VA status and infection. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01814891.

Project description:A new variety of zinc biofortified wheat (Zincol-2016) was released in Pakistan in 2016. The primary aim of this study was to examine the effects of consuming Zincol-2016 wheat flour on biochemical and functional markers of zinc status in a population with widespread zinc deficiency. An individually-randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross over design was used. Fifty households were recruited to participate in the study, with each household included at least one woman of reproductive age (16-49 years) who was neither pregnant nor breast feeding or currently taking nutritional supplements. All households were provided with control flour for an initial 2-week baseline period, followed by the intervention period where households were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to receive biofortified flour (group A; n = 25) and control flour (group B; n = 25) for 8-weeks, then switched to the alternate flour for 8-weeks. The trial has been registered with the ISRCTN (https://www.isrctn.com), ID ISRCTN83678069. The primary outcome measure was plasma zinc concentration, and the secondary outcome measures were plasma selenium and copper concentrations, plasma copper:zinc ratio and fatty acid desaturase and elongase activity indices. Nutrient intake was assessed using 24-h dietary recall interviews. Mineral concentrations in plasma were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and free fatty acids and sphingolipids by mass spectrometry. Linear Mixed Model regression and General Linear Model with repeated measures were used to analyse the outcomes. Based on an average flour consumption of 224 g/day, Zincol-2016 flour provided an additional daily zinc intake of between 3.0 and 6.0 mg for white and whole grain flour, respectively. No serious adverse events were reported. This resulted in significant, increase in plasma zinc concentration after 4 weeks [mean difference 41.5 μg/L, 95% CI (6.9-76.1), p = 0.02]. This was not present after 8 weeks (p = 0.6). There were no consistent significant effects of the intervention on fatty acid desaturase and elongase activity indices. Regular consumption of Zincol-2016 flour increased the daily zinc intake of women of reproductive age by 30-60%, however this was not associated with a sustained improvement in indices of zinc status.

Project description:Background: Selenium deficiency is widespread in the Malawi population. The selenium concentration in maize, the staple food crop of Malawi, can be increased by applying selenium-enriched fertilizers. It is unknown whether this strategy, called agronomic biofortification, is effective at alleviating selenium deficiency. Objectives: The aim of the Addressing Hidden Hunger with Agronomy (AHHA) trial was to determine whether consumption of maize flour, agronomically-biofortified with selenium, affected the serum selenium concentrations of women, and children in a rural community setting. Design: An individually-randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted in rural Malawi. Participants were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to receive either intervention maize flour biofortified with selenium through application of selenium fertilizer, or control maize flour not biofortified with selenium. Participant households received enough flour to meet the typical consumption of all household members (330 g capita -1 day-1) for a period of 8 weeks. Baseline and endline serum selenium concentration (the primary outcome) was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results: One woman of reproductive age (WRA) and one school-aged child (SAC) from each of 180 households were recruited and households were randomized to each group. The baseline demographic and socioeconomic status of participants were well-balanced between arms. No serious adverse events were reported. In the intervention arm, mean (standard deviation) serum selenium concentration increased over the intervention period from 57.6 (17.0) μg L-1 (n = 88) to 107.9 (16.4) μg L-1 (n = 88) among WRA and from 46.4 (14.8) μg L-1 (n = 86) to 97.1 (16.0) μg L-1 (n = 88) among SAC. There was no evidence of change in serum selenium concentration in the control groups. Conclusion: Consumption of maize flour biofortified through application of selenium-enriched fertilizer increased selenium status in this community providing strong proof of principle that agronomic biofortification could be an effective approach to address selenium deficiency in Malawi and similar settings. Clinical Trial Registration: http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN85899451, identifier: ISRCTN85899451.

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Zinc absorption from biofortified maize meets the requirements of young rural Zambian children.

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Zinc absorption from biofortified maize meets the requirements of young rural Zambian children.

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