Dataset Information

Daily consumption of pro-vitamin A biofortified (yellow) cassava improves serum retinol concentrations in preschool children in Nigeria: a randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Pro-vitamin A biofortified (yellow) cassava has the potential to contribute significantly to improve vitamin A status, especially in populations that are difficult to reach with other strategies.

Objectives

The study aimed at determining the efficacy of biofortified cassava to improve vitamin A status of Nigerian preschool children.

Methods

An open-label randomized controlled trial was conducted in southwestern Nigeria. In total, 176 preschool children (aged 3-5 y) were randomized into 2 parallel arms comprising an experimental group (n = 88), fed foods prepared from biofortified (yellow) cassava, and a control group (n = 88), fed foods prepared from white cassava, twice a day, 6 d a week for 93 d.

Results

A total of 159 children completed the trial (yellow cassava group, n = 80; white cassava group, n = 79). Children consumed 221 and 74 µg/d retinol activity equivalents from intervention foods in the yellow and white cassava groups, respectively. The treatment effect on serum retinol concentrations at the end of the feeding trial was 0.06 µmol/L (95% CI: 0.004, 0.124 µmol/L), after adjustment for baseline retinol concentrations, inflammation, and asymptomatic malaria status. No significant treatment effects were detected for serum ?-carotene (adjusted effect: 3.9%; 95% CI: -0.6%, 8.6%) and gut permeability (adjusted effect: 0.002; 95% CI: -0.089, 0.092), but a significant effect was detected for hemoglobin concentrations (adjusted effect: 3.08 g/L; 95% CI: 0.38, 5.78 g/L).

Conclusions

Daily consumption of ?-carotene from biofortified cassava improved serum retinol and hemoglobin concentrations modestly in Nigerian preschool children. This study was registered with clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02627222.

SUBMITTER: Afolami I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7779233 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Daily consumption of pro-vitamin A biofortified (yellow) cassava improves serum retinol concentrations in preschool children in Nigeria: a randomized controlled trial.

Afolami Ibukun I Mwangi Martin N MN Samuel Folake F Boy Erick E Ilona Paul P Talsma Elise F EF Feskens Edith E Melse-Boonstra Alida A

The American journal of clinical nutrition 20210101 1

<h4>Background</h4>Vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Pro-vitamin A biofortified (yellow) cassava has the potential to contribute significantly to improve vitamin A status, especially in populations that are difficult to reach with other strategies.<h4>Objectives</h4>The study aimed at determining the efficacy of biofortified cassava to improve vitamin A status of Nigerian preschool children.<h4>Methods</h4>An open-label randomized controlled trial was conduct ...[more]

PMID: 33184647

Similar Datasets

Project description:Vitamin A, an essential micronutrient for health, can be obtained from various food sources including cassava products made from either traditional white cassava varieties fortified with red palm oil containing provitamin A, or new high provitamin A biofortified yellow cassava varieties. Both products have a similar yellow appearance due to the coloured pigmentation of provitamin A. Using a range of methods to provide a comprehensive understanding of sensory acceptability (blind triangle test, sensory profiling, hedonic preference that included Check-all-that-applies and Just-about-right tests), we tested the acceptability and nutritional perception of traditional West-African food dough-like products (eba and fufu) made from biofortified, fortified, or control products made with non-fortified white cassava (n = 7) at three suburban locations near Ibadan, Nigeria on a total of 122 consumers. Biofortified, fortified, and control products could be differentiated blindly confirming that products clearly differed with respect to other sensory characteristics than appearance. Overall biofortified products were better accepted than control and fortified ones. Three classes of consumer preference were identified based on the dislike for control and fortified products, which indicated that acceptance of biofortified products was not a hindrance. On the contrary the traditional fortified product had poorer acceptance and this was due to its less desirable sensory characteristics as demonstrated by Just-about-right Penalty analysis. A majority of consumers (85%) had previous knowledge of biofortified cassava. Consumers associated 'yellow colour' with 'good for eyesight', 'good for children's health' and 'new'. More nutritional benefits were attributed to biofortified than fortified products although they had similar provitamin A contents and this demonstrates a bias. We suggest that nutrition promotion campaigns to improve the vitamin A status should also encompass all natural sources of provitamin A, including biofortified and traditional fortified products.

Project description:BackgroundBiomarkers of micronutrient status are needed to best define deficiencies and excesses of essential nutrients.ObjectiveWe evaluated several supporting biomarkers of vitamin A status in Zambian children to determine whether any of the biomarkers were consistent with high liver retinol stores determined by using retinol isotope dilution (RID).DesignA randomized, placebo-controlled, biofortified maize efficacy trial was conducted in 140 rural Zambian children from 4 villages. A series of biomarkers were investigated to better define the vitamin A status of these children. In addition to the assessment of total-body retinol stores (TBSs) by using RID, tests included analyses of serum carotenoids, retinyl esters, and pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) by using high-pressure liquid chromatography, retinol-binding protein by using ELISA, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity by using a colorimetric assay.ResultsChildren (n = 133) were analyzed quantitatively for TBSs by using RID. TBSs, retinyl esters, some carotenoids, and PLP differed by village site. Serum carotenoids were elevated above most nonintervened reference values for children. α-Carotene, β-carotene, and lutein values were >95th percentile from children in the US NHANES III, and 13% of children had hypercarotenemia (defined as total carotenoid concentration >3.7 μmol/L). Although only 2% of children had serum retinyl esters >10% of total retinol plus retinyl esters, 16% of children had >5% as esters, which was consistent with high liver retinol stores. Ratios of serum retinol to retinol-binding protein did not deviate from 1.0, which indicated full saturation. ALT activity was low, which was likely due to underlying vitamin B-6 deficiency, which was confirmed by very low serum PLP concentrations.ConclusionsThe finding of hypervitaminosis A in Zambian children was supported by high circulating concentrations of carotenoids and mildly elevated serum retinyl esters. ALT-activity assays may be compromised with co-existing vitamin B-6 deficiency. Nutrition education to improve intakes of whole grains and animal-source foods may enhance vitamin B-6 status in Zambians.

Project description:Staple food crops tend to be low in micronutrients; therefore, individuals whose diets rely heavily on them can suffer from micronutrient deficiency. Biofortification addresses this issue through the breeding of staple crops that are micronutrient-dense and high yielding. One such crop is iron-biofortified beans. Ten iron-biofortified bean varieties were released between 2010 and 2012 in Rwanda, a country with high rates of bean production and consumption, to address iron deficiency. This study evaluates the effect of the most widely adopted of these varieties, RWR2245, on household yield, land cultivated under beans, bean consumption, purchases, and sales. Because the adoption decision could be endogenous, we use a control function approach to quantify the impacts of adoption. RWR2245 provides a yield gain of 20%-49% over traditional bush bean varieties. In our preferred model specification, we find that over a 12-month period, growing RWR2245 for at least one out of two annual growing seasons increases the length of time beans are consumed from own production by 0.64 months (19-20 days), reduces the length of time beans are purchased for consumption by 0.73 months (22-23 days), and increases the probability of selling beans by 12%. Adoption can thus improve household nutrition via two channels: primarily by increasing iron intake via substituting biofortified harvested beans for less nutrient-dense beans from the market, and additionally by increasing household income that can be spent on nutritious foods through the reduction in bean purchases and increased likelihood of selling beans. Moreover, the sale of iron-biofortified beans implies the availability of iron-dense food in markets, also benefiting households that purchase beans. These findings are promising for the continued adoption of iron-biofortified beans in Rwanda and elsewhere and provide evidence that biofortified crops are an effective investment for nutrition, food security, and poverty reduction.

Dataset Information

Daily consumption of pro-vitamin A biofortified (yellow) cassava improves serum retinol concentrations in preschool children in Nigeria: a randomized controlled trial.

Background

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Daily consumption of pro-vitamin A biofortified (yellow) cassava improves serum retinol concentrations in preschool children in Nigeria: a randomized controlled trial.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets