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Red palm oil as a source of vitamin A for mothers and children: impact of a pilot project in Burkina Faso

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

NM Zagré ,
F Delpeuch ,
P Traissac  and
H Delisle
NM Zagré
Affiliation:
Université de Montréal, Quebec, Canada and Health Science Research Institute, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
F Delpeuch
Affiliation:
UR 106 – Nutrition, Food, Societies, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France
P Traissac
Affiliation:
UR 106 – Nutrition, Food, Societies, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France
H Delisle*
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition, Université de Montréal, PO Box 6128 Downtown Station, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3C 3J7
*
*Corresponding author: Email helene.delisle@umontreal.ca
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Abstract

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Objective:

To demonstrate the effectiveness of the commercial introduction of red palm oil (RPO) as a source of vitamin A (VA) for mothers and children in a non-consuming area, as a dietary diversification strategy.

Design:

A pre–post intervention design (no control area) was used to assess changes in VA intake and status over a 24-month pilot project.

Setting and subjects:

The pilot project involved RPO promotion in 10 villages and an urban area in east-central Burkina Faso, targeting approximately 10?000 women and children aged < 5 years. A random sample of 210 mother–child (12–36-months-old) pairs was selected in seven out of the 11 pilot sites for the evaluation.

Results:

After 24 months, RPO was reportedly consumed by nearly 45% of mothers and children in the previous week. VA intake increased from 235 ± 23 μg retinol activity equivalents (RAE) to 655 ± 144 μg RAE in mothers (41 to 120% of safe intake level), and from 164 ± 14 μg RAE to 514 ± 77 μg RAE in children (36 to 97%). Rates of serum retinol < 0.70 μmoll−1 decreased from 61.8 ± 8.0% to 28.2 ± 11.0% in mothers, and from 84.5 ± 6.4% to 66.9 ± 11.2% in children. Those with a lower initial concentration of serum retinol showed a higher serum retinol response adjusted for VA intake.

Conclusions:

Commercial distribution of RPO was effective in reducing VA deficiency in the pilot sites. While it is promising as part of a national strategy, additional public health and food-based measures are needed to control VA malnutrition, which remained high in the RPO project area

Keywords

Red palm oilVitamin A nutritionFood diversificationWest AfricaEvaluation
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 6 , Issue 8 , December 2003 , pp. 733 - 742
Copyright
Copyright © CAB International 2003

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