Fortified Beverage Helps Malnourished Children, PregnantWomen

ITHACA, N.Y.A fortified beverage improved levels of iron andvitamin A in micronutrient-deficient schoolchildren and pregnant women inTanzania, according to researchers from Cornell Universitys Tanzania Food andNutrition Centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Their research, published in asupplement to the Food and Nutrition Bulletin (24, 4:S120-8, 2003),involved two separate trialsone involving 774 young schoolchildren and oneinvolving 259 pregnant women.

The children were given a 250 mL serving of an orange-flavoredmicronutrient-fortified dietary supplement each school day for six months. Thebeverages contained 10 micronutrients, including iron (as Ferrochel, fromAlbion Advanced Nutrition; www.albion-an.com),vitamin A, iodine, zinc and B vitamins. After the six-month trial, the childrenin the treatment group exhibited improved weight, height and body mass index(BMI), as well as improved levels of iron and vitamin A, compared to the controlgroup.

The pregnant women were given two 250 mL servings of the same fortifiedbeverage or placebo twice a day for 8 weeks. At the end of the trial, thepregnant women in the treatment group also exhibited improved levels of iron, aswell as hemoglobin, compared to women in the control group. In the smallsub-group of women who delivered prior to the end of the study, vitamin A levelswere significantly improved in the treatment group compared to those in thecontrol group. However, in subjects still pregnant, serum vitamin A levelsdeclined, as they are known to do during the last few weeks of pregnancy; ratherlarge doses of medicinal vitamin A usually are needed to reverse this decline.

Ferrochel was also used in other fortified beverage trials that garneredsimilar results, where it was noted by The Proctor & Gamble Co. (producersof both the fortified and non-fortified beverages) to have excellentbioavailability (Food Nutr Bull, 24, 4:S111-9, 2003; S141-5, 2003).