Efficacy Studies of Vitamin a Fortified Cookies in Pregnant and Lactating Women

Present project was planned to alleviate the vitamin A deficiency in pregnant and lactating women by providing vitamin A fortified cookies. For the purpose, cookies were prepared by adding two vitamin A fortificants i.e. retinyl acetate and retinyl palmitate separately @ 30, 40 and 50% RDA of pregnant (750μg) and lactating (1200μg) women. During storage studies, moisture content and TBA no. of the cookies were increased from 2.51 to 2.84% and 0.40 to 0.69mg malenaldehyde/Kg, respectively. Vitamin A losses during baking and storage ranged from 7.95 to 15.79% and 8.02 to 9.69%, respectively, among the treatments. On the basis of physico-chemical analysis, baking & storage stability and sensoric attributes, T 4 (50% of RDA; retinyl acetate) and T 7 (50% of RDA; retinyl palmitate) were selected for efficacy purposes. Selected treatments (Five cookies; 50g per day) along with placebo were provided to the respective groups of vitamin A deficient pregnant women in third trimester. Retinyl acetate and retinyl palmitate fortified cookies significantly enhanced the level of serum retinol 18.51% and 21.56% in pregnant women and 9.43 and 12.84% in lactating mothers, respectively. In placebo group, the serum retinol level was significantly decreased up to 9.32% during pregnancy with a non-significant increase 1.81% during lactation. Collectively, the serum retinol level showed a significant increase of 29.69% and 37.16% in retinyl acetate and retinyl palmitate groups, respectively during six months whereas, a significant decrease (7.68%) was found in placebo group. Moreover, significant decrease was observed in retinyl esters level during pregnancy and lactation period; 35.90 and 32.00% in retinyl acetate and retinyl palmitate groups, respectively. Similarly, the placebo group also showed significant decrease in retinyl esters (64.84%). The level of β- carotene showed significant decrease in all treatments during pregnancy and lactation. Overall, T 1 (placebo) differed entirely from other groups with 36.45% decrease as compared to groups receiving retinyl acetate (8.18%) and retinyl palmitate (6.98%) fortified cookies. Red blood cells (RBC) indices like, hematocrit (Hct), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) significantly decreased in experimental groups during pregnancy, however, RBC indices depicted a significant increase in all groups during lactation. Collectively, a momentous increase in hemoglobin level was observed in women consuming retinyl acetate (12.31%) and retinyl palmitate (16.01%) in six months, while decrease of 6.15% was observed in placebo. The consumption of retinyl acetate and retinyl palmitate fortified cookies exhibited non-significant effects on renal & liver functions tests and lipid profile showing safety and suitability of these fortificants. Furthermore, retinyl palmitate was found to be more effective than retinyl acetate to uplift the serum retinol level in pregnant and lactating women. The upshots of the present investigation revealed that the cookies fortified with retinyl acetate and palmitate had potential to uplift serum vitamin A level in vulnerable segments with special reference to pregnant and lactating women.