Impact of Consumption of Orange-fleshed Sweet Potatoes on the Vitamin A Status of Bangladeshi Women of Reproductive Age
Condition: Vitamin A Deficiency
MeSH terms: Night Blindness; Vitamin A Deficiency
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether daily consumption of orange-fleshed
      sweet potatoes increases the vitamin A status of Bangladeshi women of reproductive age.
      Secondary purposes of the study are to determine whether consumption of orange-fleshed sweet
      potatoes has an effect on the intestinal absorption of dietary iron or dietary zinc in
      Bangladeshi women of reproductive age.
    

Detailed description: 
      Biofortification of plant source foods is a promising strategy for increasing dietary vitamin
      A intake and vitamin A status in populations at risk of deficiency. The primary purposes of
      this study are:

        1. to assess the efficacy of daily consumption of boiled or fried orange-fleshed sweet
           potatoes (OFSP) for increasing the vitamin A status of non-pregnant, non-lactating
           Bangladeshi women, and

        2. to estimate the relative vitamin A equivalency of beta-carotene from the two different
           preparations of OFSP (boiled or fried).

      Secondary purposes are to assess the effect of daily consumption of OFSP on intestinal
      absorption of iron and zinc. Specifically, 120 non-pregnant, non-lactating women at risk of
      vitamin A deficiency will be randomly assigned to one of the following 4 treatment groups to
      receive, 600 micrograms RAE/d, 6 d/wk, for 60 days as either:

        1. boiled OFSP

        2. fried OFSP

        3. retinyl palmitate, or 0 micrograms RAE/d as white-fleshed sweet potato (WFSP)

      The paired stable isotope dilution technique will be used to estimate total body vitamin A
      pool size before and after 60-days of supplementation. The efficacy of consumption of OFSP
      will be assessed by comparing the mean change in vitamin A pool size in the OFSP groups to
      the mean change in vitamin A pool size in the negative control group (WFSP group). Relative
      vitamin A equivalency factors will be estimated by comparing the mean change in vitamin A
      pool size in the OFSP groups with the mean change in vitamin A pool size in the retinyl
      palmitate group. Intestinal iron absorption and iron status will be assessed before and after
      the 60-day supplementation period in a subset of women (n=50); and intestinal zinc absorption
      and zinc status will be assessed after the 60-day supplementation period (n=50). Intestinal
      absorption of iron and zinc will be compared by treatment group to determine whether
      consumption of OFSP has any effect on iron or zinc absorption in these women.
    

Intervention name(s): White-fleshed sweet potatoes; Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (boiled); Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (fried); WFSP and capsule of retinyl palmitate
Intervention type(s): Other; Other; Other; Other
Intervention MeSH terms: Vitamin A; Retinol palmitate
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: stable isotopes; vitamin A; beta-carotene; orange-fleshed sweet potatoes; iron; zinc; absorption; bioavailability; vitamin A equivalency; Bangladesh; women