Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a serious and widespread public health problem in developing countries. We conducted a nationwide food consumption and nutrition survey in Nigeria to help fomulate strategies to address VAD, among other deficiencies. One objectives was to assess the vitamin A status of children <5 y old. A total of 6480 households with a mother and child <5 y old were randomly sampled. Blood samples were collected by venipuncture and processed to obtain serum for measurement of retinol concentration by HPLC. Nationwide, 29.5% of children <5 y old were vitamin A deficient (serum retinol <0.70 micromol/L). The proportions of children with VAD differed among the agroecological zones; incidences were 31.3% in the dry savanna, 24.0% in the moist savanna, and 29.9% in the humid forest (P < 0.001). More children (P < 0.05) with severe deficiency (serum retinol < 0.35 micromol/L) lived in the humid forest (7.1%) than in the dry (3.1%) or moist savanna (2.4%). The distribution of VA in children <5 y old was 25.6% in the rural sector, 32.6% in the medium, and 25.9% in the urban sector (P < 0.05). In conclusion, VAD is a severe public health problem in Nigeria. Although the proportion of children with low serum vitamin A levels varies agroecologically and across sectors, it is an important public health problem in all zones and sectors.

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Mature dry seeds of 20 varieties of cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) grown in Nigeria were analyzed for their sucrose, raffinose and stachyose content. The dry seeds were ground into powder; extracted with 80% ethanol and-the extract analyzed by paper chromatography using a mixture of n-butanol, ethanol, water and ammonia solution 8:1:2:1 v/v). The results show a progressive decrease in raffinose and stachyose content with dehulling and cooking and an increase in sucrose level after cooking. The average content of the sugars in whole beans on dry weight basis was sucrose 0.8%, raffinose 2.6% and stachyose 3.3%. The average content for dehulled raw beans were sucrose 0.7%, raffinose 1.8% and stachyose 2.4% while in cooked beans it was 1.6%, 1.3%, and 1.8%, respectively.

Eighteen cultivars of cowpeas (V. unguiculutu) were analyzed for cooking time, swelling capacity, leached solid, percent seed coat, seed density, amylose, tannins, proteins, and soluble sugars. The physicochemical characteristics varied with the seed coat color, the hilum color, and the skin texture. The cooking time was positively correlated to protein, seed density, percent seed coat, swelling capacity and leached solids, and negatively correlated to the levels of amylose, soluble sugars and tannins. There were significant correlations (p < 0.05) between sugars and swelling capacity, protein and seed density; and seed density and swelling capacity. The mean percent seed coaf was significantly different (p < 0.05) between the varieties with wrinkled seed coats and those with smooth seed coats.

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