Objective: To evaluate the effect of tamarind (Tamarindus indicus) ingestion on excretion of fluoride in school children. Design: Randomized, diet-control study. Subject: Twenty healthy boys were included and 18 of them completed the study. Interventions: Each subject consumed 10 g tamarind daily with lunch for 18 days at the social welfare boys' hostel. The nutrient composition of the daily diet was constant throughout the experimental period. Results: Tamarind intake led to significant increase (P < 0.001) in the excretion of fluoride in 24 h urine (4.8 AE 0.22 mg=day) as compared to excretion on control diet (3.5 AE 0.22 mg=day). However, excretion of magnesium and zinc decreased significantly (7.11 AE 1.48 mg of Mg and 252.88 AE 12.84 mg of Zn per day on tamarind diet as compared to 23.39 AE 3.68 mg of Mg and 331.78 AE 35.31 mg Zn per day on control diet). Excretion of calcium and phosphorous were not significantly different while creatinine excretion decreased with tamarind intake (225.66 AE 81 mg creatinine=day with tamarind and 294.5 AE 78.76 mg creatinine=day without tamarind). Conclusion: Tamarind intake is likely to help in delaying progression of fluorosis by enhancing urinary excretion of fluoride.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.