Comparison between the use of massive amounts of vitamin A and the use of sugar fortified with retinol to combat vitamin A deficiency
Araujo, R.L.; Borges, E.L.; Silva, J.D.A.B.; Vieira, E.C.
Revista Associacao Brasileira das Industrias da Alimentacao/Setor de Alimentos Calorico Proteicos 37: 2 . . . 13
1978
Document Number: 253566
For 18 months 43 children from 8 months to 7 years old of low socioeconomic class living in Belo Horizonte who were kept at creches during the day and had serum vitamin A below normal values, were given sugar supplemented with retinol 0.3 mg/100 g. The children had significantly more vitamin A in blood than 17 given sugar without added retinol. When 52 children, with initial values for vitamin A in serum about 14.5 to 16.5 mu g/100 ml, who were given by mouth 200 000 IU (60 mg) vitamin A daily for 30 days there was no difference in serum vitamin A between them and 17 controls who had no vitamin A supplement. It was concluded that intestinal parasites interfered with the utilization of vitamin A.