Dietary intake of vitamin A precursors by rural Gambian pregnant and lactating women.

In view of the apparent paradox of low dietary intakes of vitamin A by rural Gambian women, which is not accompanied by deficient biochemical or physiological indices (Bates, 1983), a detailed study was undertaken, in which dietary intake was remeasured by direct weighed food intakes, coupled with chemical analysis of the carotene content of key food components. This was combined with recall data on dietary patterns in order to obtain a precise picture of carotene intakes throughout a twelve month period, with supplementary information spanning 4 years. Major contributors to dietary carotene intake were mangos (brief period of local availability during the dry season), leaf sauces (mainly rainly season), and small amounts of red palm oil (purchased by the more wealthy families). Preformed vitamin A made only a very small contribution to the diet. For 35 subjects studied during pregnancy in the village of Manduar, the geometric mean home food carotene intake was 0.81 mg/day, and for 61 pregnant subjects from the village of Keneba, the geometric mean home food carotene intake was 0.62 mg/day. However, there were large individual variations. While the efficiency of conversion of carotene to retinol is not known precisely, it is clear that these intakes are considerably below the current recommended dietary allowance for vitamin A during pregnancy, and especially during lactation.