A home-gardening program that was integrated with a primary health care activity, linked to nutrition education, and focused on the production of yellow and dark-green leafy vegetables significantly improved the vitamin A status of 2-5-y-old children in a rural village in South Africa.
Objectives: To determine vitamin A intake of children aged 2±5 years in a rural South African community one year after the implementation of a home-based food production programme targeting b-carotene-rich fruits and vegetables. Design: Dietary intake of children aged 2±5 years was determined during a crosssectional survey before and one year after the implementation of a home-based food production programme. Setting: A low socio-economic rural African community, approximately 60 km northwest of the coastal city of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Subjects: Children aged 2±5 years n 100; 50 children from households with home-gardens producing b-carotene fruits and vegetables (project gardens), and 50 children from households without project gardens. Results: As compared with baseline data, there was a significant increase in vitamin A intake in children from households with project gardens as well as in children from households without project gardens. However, children from households with project gardens had a significantly higher vitamin A intake than children from households without project gardens. The increased vitamin A intake in those children from households without project gardens can be attributed to the availability of butternuts in the local shop (as a result of the project), and because the mothers negotiated with project garden mothers to obtain these fruits and vegetables for their children. Conclusion: A home-based food production programme targeting b-carotene-rich fruits and vegetables can lead to an increase in vitamin A intake.
This study investigated the effect of stearic acid, linoleic acid, and lysophosphatidylcholine on complex formation and physicochemical properties of bambara starch in comparison with potato starch. The complexation index reached maximum at 2% lipid concentration. Bambara starch complexed better with stearic acid than with linoleic acid and lysophosphatidylcholine. A similar trend was observed for potato starch but to a lesser extent. All lipids significantly reduced the peak and setback viscosities of bambara starch, but increased the final viscosity. Pasting of bambara and potato starches with lipids resulted in the formation of type‐I V‐amylose complexes, with melting temperatures ranging from ∼98 to 102°C. X‐ray diffraction of these complexes showed the crystalline V‐amylose pattern with a major peak at 2Θ = 19.9° and minor peaks at 2Θ = 7.4° and 12.9°. Modification of bambara starch with lipids resulted in reduced digestibility, suggesting their potential application in formulating foods for the management of diabetes.
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