Local solutions for improving diet - Baobab and baby gruel
People suffer not only from getting too little to eat, but also from
a lack of important nutrients. Many children and mothers in developing
countries lack vitamin A, iron, iodine, and zinc. Our Malian partners
are trying to improve the qualitative nutrition. In a first place, we
have been working with the baobab and baby gruel. The dietetic laboratory
at the Institut d'Economie Rurale and the Research Station at
Cinzana investigated the nutrient content of the leaves and fruit of the
baobab tree, as well as an improved flour for preparing babies' gruel
Vitamins A and C from the baobab
The baobab tree, also known as the monkey-bread tree, is found in the
semiarid regions of Africa. It usually grows wild, and its fruit and leaves
are produced during the rainy season. Both are traditionally used to prepare
food. The leaves are plucked at the end of the rainy season, before the
tree drops them.
The leaves are mainly used as an ingredient in the sauce served with
the daily meal. They are dried in the sun, and later pounded and made
into powder. Previous research has shown that powder made from leaves
dried in the shade has twice as much provitamin A (beta-carotene) as sun-dried
leaves. In addition, smaller, younger baobab leaves have 20% more vitamins
than larger ones. These findings were based on vitamin analyses financed
by the "Sight and Life" study group,2 and accordingly a radio campaign
was used to inform people that smaller leaves dried in the shade were
more nourishing - which is particularly important for ensuring a good-quality
diet for children and mothers.
Another area of activity at the Research Station consists of breeding
baobab varieties with a high level of vitamin C in their fruit, and making
these available to the population and to plantations In the Sahel. The
dried and powdered pulp of the fruit is mainly used to produce drinks.
Improved flour for nourishing baby gruel
Many babies and infants are malnourished, because mothers neglect the
diet of their youngest children after the nursing period - assuming that
the children are past the delicate age - and they go back to doing more
field work or earning an income. The traditional millet gruel that mothers
usually give their children is not very nutritious. The dietetics laboratory
therefore developed a form of flour that can be locally produced from
millet, cowpea (niébé), and malt, with a higher energy value.
After a six-month trial with the test groups (each consisting of 20
mothers and their babies aged 6-12 months, in three different villages),
all were very satisfied with the new flour used. There were fewer illnesses,
and the children were less dependent on their mother and made less noise.
During regular physical examinations, no malnourishment was found in these
children. Paying attention to the dosage (water to flour) is decisive
for the energy value of the gruel.
All three groups of women are now producing the flour themselves. One
problem with producing it is that not enough cowpea is available. As an
initial step, the Research Station at Cinzana has now provided seed so
that from next year onward the women will be able to obtain their own
seed from the harvest. To spread the use of the flour more widely, women
are being trained to act as representatives and pass on their knowledge
of the flour to other women in the surrounding villages. This is already
happening to some extent, since other women have been asking members of
the test groups about the flour. The introduction of the flour will also
be incorporated into a more general awareness campaign that in addition
will deal with basic hygiene measures during food preparation, etc.
- The dietetic studies were supervised by Dr. J. Scheuring (Syngenta)
and other dietary experts (from Hoffman-La Roche, Gerber, Nestlé,
and a university in New Zealand).
- The "Sight and Life" study group, initiated by Hoffmann-La Roche,
is dedicated to the problem of vitamin A deficiency in developing countries.
The condition is particularly common in children. Vitamin A deficiency
causes visual disturbances, and can lead to blindness. The study group
provides various types of support for projects aimed at relieving this
situation (www.sightandlife.org).
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