QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Drammeh, B. S. Articles by Stephensen, C. B Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Drammeh, B. S. Articles by Stephensen, C. B

---

Community and International Nutrition

A Randomized, 4-Month Mango and Fat Supplementation Trial Improved Vitamin A Status among Young Gambian Children^1,2

Bakary S. Drammeh^*,, Grace S. Marquis^**3, Ellen Funkhouser^*, Chris Bates, Isao Eto and Charles B Stephensen

^* Department of Epidemiology and International Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 Medical Research Council, Keneba, The Gambia, West Africa ^** Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011 Medical Research Council, Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge, U.K. Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Western Human Nutrition Research Center and Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA 95616

³To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: gmarquis{at}iastate.edu.

Supplementation with carotene-rich fruits may be an effective and sustainable approach to prevent vitamin A deficiency. To test the effectiveness of mango supplementation, 176 Gambian children, aged 2 to 7 y, were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: 75 g of dried mango containing 150 µg retinol activity equivalents with (MF) or without (M) 5 g of fat, 5 d/wk for 4 mo or 60,000 µg of vitamin A (A) or placebo (P) capsule at baseline. After 4 mo, plasma ß-carotene was greater in both the M (P < 0.05) and MF (P = 0.07) groups compared with the P group. After controlling for baseline plasma retinol, elevated acute phase proteins and age, plasma retinol concentrations in the A and MF, but not M, groups were higher than in the P group at the end of the study (P < 0.01). Increases in retinol concentrations, however, were small in both groups. These results support the use of dietary supplementation with dried mangoes and a source of fat as one of several concurrent strategies that can be used to help maintain vitamin A status of children in developing countries where there is a severe seasonal shortage of carotenoid-rich foods.

KEY WORDS: • vitamin A deficiency • carotenoids • ß-carotene • mango • The Gambia

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. W. Low, M. Arimond, N. Osman, B. Cunguara, F. Zano, and D. Tschirley A Food-Based Approach Introducing Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potatoes Increased Vitamin A Intake and Serum Retinol Concentrations in Young Children in Rural Mozambique J. Nutr., May 1, 2007; 137(5): 1320 - 1327. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]