ACCEPTABILITY, SAFETY, AND DIGESTIBILITY OF SPRAY-DRIED BOVINE SERUM ADDED TO DIETS OF RECOVERING MALNOURISHED CHILDREN

Background: Specially collected, spray-dried bovine and porcine blood plasma have been incorporated previously in feeds of weanling farm ani mals, resulting in increased dietary intakes and greater rates of weig ht gain than observed in control animals. Before conducting similar tr ials in human populations, preliminary studies have been completed to assess the acceptability, safety, and digestibility of processed anima l plasma in young children. Methods: Masked study diets were provided sequentially to each of ten young, Peruvian children recovering from s evere protein-energy malnutrition during three randomly ordered 7-day dietary periods. The control diet was prepared from rice, milk, vegeta ble oil, and sugar; the two study diets included spray-dried, bovine s erum concentrate to replace either 25% or 50% of the milk protein of t he control diet. Urine and feces were collected quantitatively during the last four days of each diet period to assess stool weight, apparen t absorption of macronutrients, and retention of nitrogen. Results: Al l children consumed the entire amounts offered of each of the diets. T he mean number of daily bowel movements and mean apparent absorption a nd retention of nitrogen and mean apparent absorption of carbohydrate were similar for each diet. Fractional absorption of dietary lipid and of total energy increased significantly in relation to the amount of bovine serum concentrate in the diet, although this might be explained by the simultaneous replacement of milk fat with additional vegetable oil. Conclusions: Each of the diets was well accepted by the study ch ildren, and there was no evidence of any adverse effects of bovine ser um concentrate. (C) 1997 Lippincott-Raven Publishers.