Assessment of Starch Digestibility and Amylase Sufficiency in Children
Condition: Malnutrition, Child
MeSH terms: Malnutrition; Child Nutrition Disorders
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Research has demonstrated that there is a relationship between malnourishment and
      insufficient production of pancreatic enzymes, such as α-amylase which digests starch into
      glucose. Starchy foods that can be easily digested into glucose are critical to the
      development child for energy and proper growth. This study investigated the use of a
      noninvasive breath test for the assessment of amylase sufficiency, digestibility of normal
      and modified sorghum porridges and gastric emptying rate of a sorghum porridge in Malian and
      U.S. children.
    

Detailed description: 
      The purpose of this research is to test the hypotheses that: 1.) Moderately malnourished
      stunted children have low pancreatic α-amylase activity; and 2.) Modified starchy food
      preparations will have better (higher) digestibility than the commonly given foods for both
      moderately malnourished stunted and healthy non-stunted children. A noninvasive breath test
      was used to assess amylase insufficiency in moderately malnourished and stunted children in
      Mali, as well as in healthy children in Mali and the United States. Moderately malnourished
      and healthy children in Mali were fed sorghum porridges, which are commonly consumed in Mali.
      Porridges contained a 13C-labeled substrate (algal starch or octanoic acid) for assessment of
      amylase insufficiency and gastric emptying rate. In a follow-up study, healthy children in
      the United States were also assessed for amylase sufficiency.
    

Intervention name(s): Normal sorghum porridge, algal starch; Normal sorghum porridge, algal dextrins; Normal sorghum porridge, labeled flour; Modified sorghum porridge, labeled flour; Thinned sorghum porridge, labeled flour; Modified sorghum porridge, octanoic acid
Intervention type(s): Other; Other; Other; Other; Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Normal sorghum porridge with 13C-labeled algal starch was fed, breath tested, as the first arm of an alpha-amylase sufficiency assessment in healthy and moderately malnourished children.; Normal sorghum porridge with 13C-labeled starch limit dextrins was fed, breath tested, as the second arm of an alpha-amylase sufficiency assessment in healthy and moderately malnourished children.; Normal sorghum porridge with a portion of 13C-labeled sorghum flour was fed, breath tested, for starch digestibility assessment in healthy and moderately malnourished children.; Modified sorghum porridge with shear stirring to reduce viscosity with a portion of 13C-labeled sorghum flour was fed, breath tested, for starch digestibility assessment in healthy and moderately malnourished children.; Thinned sorghum porridge treated with an alpha-amylase liquifying enzyme with a portion of 13C-labeled sorghum flour was fed, breath tested, for starch digestibility assessment in healthy and moderately malnourished children.; Modified sorghum porridge with shear stirring to reduce viscosity with addition of 13C-labeled octanoic acid was fed, breath tested, for gastric emptying assessment in healthy and moderately malnourished children.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Other