The latest study by the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) has
established that ‘orange’ vitamin A maize increases vitamin A storage in the
body, NaijaAgroNet Reports.
This maize, NaijaAgroNet gathered has been orthodoxly
bred as non- Genetically Modified Organisms
(GMOs) to have higher levels of beta-carotene, a naturally occurring plant
pigment that the body then converts into vitamin A.
Experts from AJCN affirmed to NaijaAgroNet that lack of sufficient
vitamin A blinds up to 500,000 children annually and increases the risk of
death from disease (such as diarrhea in children). Thus, Vitamin A deficiency
is widely prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa.
NaijaAgroNet also gathered that foods
that are good sources of vitamin A, such as orange fruits, dark leafy
vegetables, or meat, are not always available, or where they are they could be
too expensive in some regions.
Just as in many African countries,
people eat large amounts of staple foods like cassava or maize.
The efficacy study, NaijaAgroNet
learnt revealed that children from the Eastern Province of Zambia were randomly
assigned to three feeding groups and received either white maize, orange maize,
or a daily vitamin A supplement. After three months, both groups that received
either the orange maize or vitamin A supplements showed significant increases
in their total body stores of vitamin A, with no changes observed in the group
that received white maize.
Lead scientist Sherry Tanumihardjo
said “we were surprised to find that most of the children in this study already
had substantial stores of vitamin A. We attribute this to the success of
fortifying sugar with vitamin A, the provision of vitamin A supplements to
young children, and perhaps better diets. Yet, despite having adequate vitamin
A stores, we still saw this store increase in children as a result of eating
the orange maize. So, I’m confident that orange maize would be especially
effective in increasing body stores of vitamin A in populations suffering from
vitamin A deficiency.”
Unlike the form of vitamin A found in supplements and
fortified foods, Sherry said, the body regulates conversion of beta-carotene into vitamin A,
and consuming high levels of beta-carotene is not harmful to health.
Additionally, Sherry said several orange maize varieties have
been released by the governments of Zambia and Nigeria.
HarvestPlus Country Manager for Zambia, Eliab Simpungwe, stated in a
press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet
that in Zambia, they provided orange maize to more than 10,000 farming households and is now
working with the private sector with the goal of reaching 100,000 farmers by
2015.
“The orange maize has been embraced by consumers once they have had a
chance to taste it. When they also understand the benefits of vitamin A in the
diets they are all the more enthusiastic about orange maize” Simpungwe said.
Pointing out that the orange maize
varieties released are also high yielding, disease and virus resistant, and
drought tolerant.
Additionally, the Acting Executive Director of the National Food and Nutrition Commission in Zambia, Musonda Mofu, who was also on the study team, said “there are still many pockets where vitamin A deficiency remains a problem in Zambia.
"Food-based approaches such as orange maize can provide people—especially women and children—with a good portion of their daily vitamin A needs through nshima or other traditional foods made from maize, that we Zambians eat every day. For us, this is cost-effective and a safe approach to improving nutrition,” Mofu assured.
+Remmy Nweke @ITRealms @HarvestPlus @AJCN @VitaminA @FAO #FMARD #Nigeria #VitaminA
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