QUALITY-PROTEIN MAIZE WITH A HIGH-FAT CONTENT AS A WEANING FOOD

Few advances would contribute more to the growth and well-being of inf ants and children in the developing world than the making available of acceptable staple foods that are easy to grow and process, nutritiona lly complete enough to serve as the major weaning food, and safe witho ut refrigeration. High-fat quality-protein maize (QPM), grown in Mexic o, had >10% of its energy as well-balanced protein and >15% as fat. Wh en it was fed to six recovering malnourished infants to provide 85-88% of dietary energy, all of 9.8% protein calories, and all of 13.5% fat calories, it was easily consumed and tolerated. In comparison with a fiber-free, casein-based diet, fecal wet and dry weights of children c onsuming two varieties of high-fat QPM were three to four times greate r, and apparent digestibilities of energy were 86 +/- 3 and 86 +/- 4 v ersus 97 +/- 1%, of carbohydrate 88 +/- 3 and 89 +/- 5 versus 100%, an d of nitrogen (N) 77 +/- 4 and 75 +/- 4 versus 89 +/- 2% of intake. Hi gh ''biological values,'' 43 +/- 10 and 46 +/- 13 versus 43 +/- 10% of absorbed N, led to comparable apparent N retentions: 33 +/- 8 and 35 +/- 9 versus 38 +/- 9% of intake. Results were similar to those from e arlier studies with Peruvian QPM with a typical fat content. Fat absor ptions from QPMs were nearly complete, equal to those from separated v egetable oils in the casein diet. Breath H-2s were suggestive of signi ficant colonic salvage of incompletely digested maize carbohydrates.