Department of Pediatrics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
Pamoja Community Based Organization, Kisumu 2311-40100, Kenya.
Nutrients. 2024 Oct 9;16(19):3425. doi: 10.3390/nu16193425.
Childhood vitamin A deficiency leads to increased morbidity and mortality. Human milk is the only source of vitamin A for exclusively breastfed infants. Dried leaf powder (moringa) is a good food source of provitamin A and other carotenoids. Its effect during lactation on human milk vitamin A and carotenoid content is unclear. Our objective was to investigate the effect of maternal moringa consumption on human milk retinol and carotenoid concentrations and maternal and infant vitamin A status. Methods: We conducted a 3-month pilot single-blinded cluster-randomized controlled trial in breastfeeding mother-infant pairs (n = 50) in Kenya. Mothers received corn porridge with (20 g/d) or without moringa with complete breast expressions and maternal and infant serum collected at enrollment (infant <30 days old) and 3 months. Milk was analyzed for retinol and selected carotenoids; maternal/infant serum was analyzed for retinol binding protein (RBP). 88% (n = 44) pairs completed milk and serum samples. Four mothers (9%) had vitamin A deficiency (RBP <0.07 µmol/L); 11 (25%) were vitamin A insufficient (VAI; RBP <1.05 µmol/L). Alpha-carotene concentration in milk was higher in the moringa than the control group at baseline ( = 0.024) and at exit (least squares means, LSM, 95%CI µg/mL 0.003, 0.003-0.004 moringa vs. 0.002, 0.001-0.003 control, n = 22/cluster; = 0.014). In mothers with VAI, alpha-carotene was higher in the moringa group than controls at exit (LSM, 95%CI µg/mL 0.005, 0.003-0.009 moringa, n = 3, vs. 0.002, 0.000-0.004 control, n = 8, = 0.027) with no difference at baseline. Milk carotenoids did not correlate with vitamin A status (serum RBP) in infants or mothers. Maternal moringa consumption did not impact concentration of milk vitamin A and resulted in limited increase in milk carotenoids in this cohort.
儿童维生素 A 缺乏会导致发病率和死亡率增加。人乳是纯母乳喂养婴儿唯一的维生素 A 来源。干叶粉（辣木）是一种很好的类维生素 A 和其他类胡萝卜素的食物来源。其在哺乳期对人乳维生素 A 和类胡萝卜素含量的影响尚不清楚。我们的目的是研究母亲食用辣木对人乳视黄醇和类胡萝卜素浓度以及母婴维生素 A 状况的影响。方法：我们在肯尼亚进行了一项为期 3 个月的母乳喂养母婴对（n = 50）的单盲群随机对照试验。母亲接受添加（20 g/d）或不添加辣木的玉米粥，并在入组时（婴儿<30 天）和 3 个月时采集母乳和母婴血清。分析牛奶中的视黄醇和选定的类胡萝卜素；分析母婴血清中的视黄醇结合蛋白（RBP）。88%（n = 44）对完成了牛奶和血清样本。4 名母亲（9%）患有维生素 A 缺乏症（RBP <0.07 µmol/L）；11 名（25%）为维生素 A 不足（VAI；RBP <1.05 µmol/L）。辣木组牛奶中 α-胡萝卜素浓度在基线（= 0.024）和出口（最小二乘均值，95%CI µg/mL 0.003，0.003-0.004 辣木与 0.002，0.001-0.003 对照组，n = 22/组；= 0.014）时高于对照组。在 VAI 母亲中，辣木组的 α-胡萝卜素在出口时高于对照组（LSM，95%CI µg/mL 0.005，0.003-0.009 辣木，n = 3，与 0.002，0.000-0.004 对照组，n = 8，= 0.027），而基线时无差异。婴儿或母亲的牛奶类胡萝卜素与维生素 A 状态（血清 RBP）无关。母亲食用辣木并没有影响牛奶中维生素 A 的浓度，并且在该队列中仅导致牛奶类胡萝卜素的有限增加。
