ANTIOXIDANT VITAMINS IN MALNOURISHED NIGERIAN CHILDREN

The antioxidant capacity in malnutrition - as far as it is related to vitamins - was studied by determining the plasma concentrations of the most prominent antioxidant vitamins (retinol, tocopherols, carotenoid s, cryptoxanthine, lycopene, and ubiquinone-10) in marasmic (M; n=15), severe marasmic (SM; n=8), kwashiorkor (KW; n=12), and normally nouri shed (CO; n=18) children in Nigeria. Retinol was found to be reduced i n severe marasmic children when compared to focal controls (medians an d interquartile ranges; SM: 155 mu g/l, 117-178 mu g/l; CO: 281 mu/l 2 09-413 mu g/l; p < 0.005). A strong correlation between plasma retinol and retinol binding protein could be found in all groups (SM: r=0.79; M: r=0.93; KW: r=0.80; CO: r=0.70). The tocopherol/lipid-ratio was lo wered in kwashiorkor (median 0.48 mg/g, interquartile range 0.41-0.66 mg/g). A sufficient tocopherol status was only found in one child with kwashiorkor: alpha-Carotene, beta-carotene, cryptoxanthine and lycope ne were below the detection limits in most of the malnourished childre n. Plasma ubiquinone-10 was significantly higher in kwashiorkor (media n 1.05 mu g/ml, interquartile range 0.88-1.17 mu g/ml) than in all oth er groups (CO: 0.71 mu g/ml, 0.55-0.99 mu g/ml: M: 0.72 mu g/ml, 0.65- 0.83 mu g/ml; SM: 0.89 mu g/ml, 0.61-0.83 mu g/ml). It is concluded th at a depletion of antioxidant vitamins is present in malnourished Nige rian children, especially pronounced in the kwashiorkor syndrome. The mechanisms lending to elevated plasma ubiquinone-10 in kwashiorkor req uire further studies. (C) 1994 Hogrefe and Huber Publishers