Plasma amino acid ratios in Nigerian children suffering from marasmus and kwashiorkor
Ette, S.I.; Laditan, A.A.
East African Medical Journal 58(7): 515-519
1981
ISSN/ISBN: 0012-835X PMID: 6796379 Document Number: 179712
Ratios of nonessential to essential amino acids in plasma were investigated in 66 malnourished Nigerian children and 12 healthy control children in Ibadan. Of the malnourished children 32 had marasmus, the others had kwashiorkor. The ratios ranged from 1.6 to 4.8:1 in the marasmic group and 1.9 to 17.6:1 in kwashiorkor. The mean ratios for the 2 groups differed significantly from one another. The mean ratio for the children with kwashiorkor was lower than that in patients with frank kwashiorkor studied previously in Uganda, whereas the ratio for the marasmic children was higher. The mean ratio for the healthy controls was 2.0, range 1.2 to 3.0:1.