A. N. Sankaran

Effects on the general health and nutritional status of children of partial replacement of rice in a poor vegetarian diet by tapioca flour.

In previous publications of this series (Subrahmanyan, Murthy & Swaminathan, 1954; Murthy, Swaminathan & Subrahmanyan, 1954) we reported that: (I) replacement of 25 % of rice in a poor rice diet by tapioca flour did not affect the overall nutritive value of the diet as judged by the growth of young rats, and (2) the retention of calcium in adult human beings on a rice-tapioca diet was greater than that observed on a rice diet; the retention of nitrogen was of the same order on both the diets. The present paper describes the results of an experiment carried out to study the effects on the growth and nutritional status of children of replacing 25 % of rice in a poor rice diet by an equal quantity of tapioca flour.

The effect of a supplementary multipurpose food on the growth and nutritional status of schoolchildren

Dietary and clinical surveys carried out in India, Africa and in several countries elsewhere, in Asia and South America, have shown that the diets of large numbers of people are deficient in many essential nutrients such as proteins, vitamins and minerals (Patwardhan, 1952; Autret & Behar, 1954; Gopalan & Ramalingaswami, 1955 ; Brock & Autret, 1952). Protective foods such as milk, eggs, fish and meat are not available in sufficient quantities in these countries and the prospects of increasing their production in the near future are poor (Autret & van Veen, 1955). Considerable attention has recently been devoted to evolving Supplementary foods from indigenous resources for improving the health of the vulnerable groups of the population (Autret & van Veen, Various attempts have been made in India and other countries to prepare palatable milk substitutes from soya beans, groundnuts and other raw materials (Dean, 1953; De & Subrahmanyan, 1945; Nandi, Rajagopalan & De, 1953). Feeding experiments carried out on infants and children have shown that such foods possess a marked supplementary value to their ordinary diet (Dean, 1953 ; Subrahmanyan, Reddy, Moorjani, Sur, Doraiswamy, Sankaran, Bhatia & Swaminathan, 1954). Other processed food products which appear to have immense possibilities for large-scale use in combating malnutrition are the multipurpose foods prepared by suitable processing of expeller soya-bean or groundnut cakes and fortifying with essential vitamins and minerals (Cooper & Bryan, 195 I ; Subrahmanyan, Ramarao, Kuppuswamy, Narayanarao & Swaminathan, 1957). The multipurpose food prepared by the Meals for Millions Foundation, Los Angeles, U.S.A., has been reported to be a good supplement to the diets of schoolchildren (Cooper & Bryan, 1951). Investigations carried out recently in the Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, have shown that a multipurpose food prepared from a blend of low-fat groundnut flour and Bengal-gram flour and fortified with essential vitamins and minerals possesses a marked supplementary value for poor Indian diets as determined by studies on albino rats (Joseph, Narayanarao, Swaminathan & Subrahmanyan, 1957 ; Kuppuswamy, Joseph, Narayanarao, Ramarao, Swaminathan & Subrahmanyan, 1957a, b). The present paper describes studies on the value of the multipurpose food as a supplement to the diet of children.

Supplementary value of vegetable-milk curds in the diet of children.

One of the most important food problems of India and the Far East in general is the provision of adequate amounts of milk and other dairy products in the diet of the people. The per cuput daily consumption of milk in India has been estimated at 5.4 oz. (Agricultural Marketing Adviser to the Government of India, 1950), which is inadequate as compared with the recommended minimum requirement of 10 oz. (Indian Council of Medical Research: Nutrition Advisory Committee, 1944). With the prospects of further increase in population, the milk shortage is likely to become very acute. With a view to making up the shortage in the essential constituents, especially protein, minerals and vitamins, various attempts have been made in India to prepare palatable and adequately fortified milk substitutes from soya bean, groundnut and other raw materials (De & Subrahmanyan, 1945 ; Desikachar & Subrahmanyan, 1949; Nandi, Rajagopalan & De, 1953). More recently a method for large-scale production of an improved type of vegetable milk has been standardized by Subrahmanyan, Moorjani & Bhatia (1952). Metabolic studies with albino rats have shown that the calcium in such a milk is well utilized (Moorjani & Subrahmanyan, 1950~a)n d that the calcium-fortified milk possesses a marked supplementary value to the poor rice diet (Moorjani & Subrahmanyan, 195ob). Extensive consumer trials carried out by us (unpublished) in several parts of India have shown that the lactic-fermented curd and buttermilk prepared from the vegetable milk are highly acceptable and, for practical purposes, indistinguishable from similar products made out of cow’s or buffalo’s milk. Feeding experiments conducted by us (unpublished) on thousands of children in different areas in Mysore and Madras States have further confirmed that the curd is easily assimilable and forms a good supplement providing about 250 mg calcium daily at an intake of 8 oz. curd. As further quantitative data are needed, a programme of feeding experiments with children was undertaken in a local boarding home to study the supplementary value of vegetable-milk curd to the diet.

Use of an infant food formula based on groundnut protein isolate and skim milk powder in feeding infants

Summary1.A feeding experiment extending over a period of 41/2 months was conducted on infants aged 3 to 12 months to assess the value of an infant food formula containing about 26 per cent. protein and 18 per cent. fat and based on groundnut protein isolate, skim milk powder, hydrogenated groundnut oil and dextrimaltose.2.Forty male and fifty-two female infants were divided into two groups (control and experimental groups) on the basis of age, initial weight, haemoglobin content of blood and nutritional status. The infants in the control group received the milk food while those in the experimental group received the infant food formula. Each infant received daily about 90 calories per kilogram body weight from the reconstituted milk food or the infant food formula. In addition to this, the infants were fed on the breast two or three times a day by the mother. They did not receive any other food supplement. At the end of the experiment, weight, haemoglobin content of blood and nutritional status were assessed. No significant difference was observed in the above criteria between the two groups of infants.

The effect of a supplementary protein food containing fish flour, groundnut flour and bengal gram flour and fortified with vitamins on the growth and nutritional status of children

SummaryA feeding experiment extending over a period of six months was carried out on 58 boys, aged 6 to 12 years, in a local boarding home in Mysore, to assess the effects of supplementing their diet daily, with 40 gm. of a protein food based on 2∶1∶1 blend of groundnut flour, Bengal gram flour and fish flour (from oil sardine) fortified with vitamins A and D, thiamine and riboflavin.The children were paired according to initial height and weight and the members of each pair allotted at random to the control and experimental groups. Values for weight, height, nutritional status, haemoglobin level and red blood cell count were recorded at the beginning and end of the experiment, for subjects in the control and experimental groups. All the children in the experimental group relished the protein supplement and none complained of digestive trouble.A highly significant increase in height, weight, red blood cell count and haemoglobin level of the subjects receiving the protein food supplement was observed as compared with the control group. Eighty per cent. of the subjects in the experimental group improved in their nutritional status as compared with only seventeen per cent. in the control group. None in the experimental group showed deterioration whereas seventeen per cent. of the subjects in the control group showed deterioration in their nutritional status.

Use of modified milk foods containing fruit pulp in infant feeding I. Effect of feeding milk foods containing mango or banana fruit pulp on the growth and general health of infants

SummaryA feeding experiment extending over a period of four and a half months was conducted on infants aged 4 to 12 months to assess the value of half cream and low-fat milk foods containing mango or banana fruit pulp in the feeding of infants. On the basis of initial weight, haemoglobin content of blood and nutritional status, the infants were allotted to 3 groups of male infants and 3 groups of female infants.Data for the weight, nutritional status and haemoglobin content of blood were obtained at the beginning and end of the experiment for the different groups and analysed statistically. The results showed that the increases in weight and haemoglobin level of the infants receiving the milk foods containing mango or banana fruit pulp were significantly greater than those observed with infants receiving the control milk foods containing cane sugar.Infants receiving milk foods containing mango or banana fruit pulp improved in their nutritional status to a greater extent than those receiving the control milk food containing sugar.

Effect of long-term feeding of albino rats on rice and on rice-tapioca diets on the blood and on the liver.

In a previous paper, Subrahmanyan, Murthy & Swaminathan (1954) reported that replacement of 25 % of rice in a poor rice diet by tapioca flour enhanced significantly the growth of young rats. This effect was shown to be due to the supplementary value of the extra calcium present in the tapioca flour. Since partial replacement of rice by tapioca flour caused a slight lowering in the protein content of the diet, the possibility remained that the ill effects, if any, due to it, may not be observed in a period of 8 weeks. It was therefore thought desirable to conduct long-term feeding experiments and to study the effect of prolonged feeding of such diets on the concentration of haemoglobin in the blood, on the red-blood cell count, and on the composition and histological appearance of the liver. A third group of rats on the control rice diet, supplemented with the same amount of calcium (as calcium lactate) as that supplied by tapioca in the rice—tapioca diet, was also included with a view to ascertaining the effect of the calcium supplement on growth and on the liver and blood of rats.