Red palm oil for combating vitamin A deficiency

Red palm oil (Elaeis guineensis,RPO) is nutritionally rich and unique in comparison with other edible oils as it has a high content of b-carotene (400 ppm).It is the ideal choice for combating vitamin A deficiency in developing countries. The Modified Relative Dose Response test was conducted to assess the vitamin A status of school children fed RPO in the form of a sweet snack supplying the RDA (2400 µg) of b-carotene for two months. A significant increase was seen in serum retinol levels from 0.86 ± 0.14 to 1.89 ± 0.23 µmol/L, comparable with a control group fed oral vitamin A drops daily whose retinol levels increased from 0.74 ± 0.09 to 1.94 ± 0.21µmol/L. The dehydroretinol/ retinol ratio (DR/R) decreased from 0.073 ± 0.025 to 0.023 ± 0.003 in a RPO group and from 0.095 ± 0.023 to 0.023 ± 0.004 in the vitamin A group, indicating saturation of liver reserves of retinol, the cut-off point for inadequate status being > 0.03. In another study, school children fed RPO snacks for one month were compared with massive vitamin A dosed groups. Serum retinol level increased significantly in both groups. Serum b-carotene increased from 0.06 ± 0.002 to 0.21 ± 0.01 µmol/L in the RPO group, but remained the same in a control group. A third study indicated that RPO can afford protection for as long as six months, similar to massive vitamin A doses. School children fed RPO snack for one month as per the RDA, maintained normal levels even after six months of cessation of supplementation. Children fed 50 % of RDA from RPO snack also maintained normal levels (>0.7µ mol/L) at the end of six months of supplementation. Hence, periodic bouts of RPO feeding twice or thrice a year may help in maintaining adequate vitamin A status throughout the year. Hence RPO has great promise in maintaining the nutritional well-being of the population.