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Background: Moringa oleifera is a plant species; its leaves, flowers and, fruits are appreciated for the richness of nutrients and antioxidant potential. Objetive: To evaluate the effect of an infusion of dry leaves of Moringa oleifera on the blood values of hemoglobin and ferritin in a group of adolescents. Materials and Methods: Longitudinal beforeand-after study for six months in 31 adolescents from the Cerro Guayabal community, Ecuador. For the nutritional supplementation, 4 grams of powdered Moringa oleifera leaves were used in two infusion bags. Macronutrients and minerals were quantified in the Moringa oleifera dry leaves and in its infusion. The mineral analyzes were carried out in triplicate, in an atomic absorption equipment. Hemoglobin and ferritin were measured in adolescents at baseline and after six months of supplementation. Results: Significant increase of 1.29 g in the average figure of hemoglobin, and decrease in the number of adolescents at risk of anemia according to the values of ferritin and hemoglobin. Conclusions: These results place the plant species Moringa oleifera as a potential and useful food to combat nutritional deficiencies, especially iron deficiency anemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The most common micronutrient deficiencies in Ecuadorian schoolchildren are vitamin A (VA), zinc, and iron. The objective of the present study was to test the efficacy of cow's milk as a vehicle for VA, zinc, and iron supplementation.Methods: Three hundred twenty-eight children aged 6-10 years were included in a randomized, double blind controlled study; 173 children received 480 mL of whole milk (300 Kcals; G1) daily and 155 children received fortified milk (300 Kcals; G2) daily for 23 weeks. Participants had a nutritional evaluation before and after supplementation. Both treatment groups were comparable for gender, age, weight and height at the beginning of the study.Results: Both types of milk were well accepted by the participating children. Data showed that serum concentrations of VA, zinc, and iron significantly increased within both treatment groups. The increase in serum concentrations of the indicated micronutrients was significantly greater in children with deficiencies than in non-deficient ones. There were not significant differences in serum concentrations of VA, zinc, and iron between groups after supplementation. Data also showed that there was an increase in the percentage of children with normal BMI at the expense of a decrease of the percentage of children with excess weight at the end of the treatment period in G1 whereas in G2 it remained unchanged. Blood lipid profiles were normal before and after milk supplementation in both treatment groups.Conclusions: These data indicated that fortified and non-fortified milk are excellent options to increase serum VA, zinc, and iron concentration in schoolchildren. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]