Efficacy of iron-biofortified crops

Biofortification aims to increase the content of micronutrients in staple crops without sacrificing agronomic yield, making the new varieties attractive to farmers. Food staples that provide a major energy supply in low- and middle-income populations are the primary focus. The low genetic variability of iron in the germplasm of most cereal grains is a major obstacle on the path towards nutritional impact with these crops, which is solvable only by turning to transgenic approaches. However, biofortified varieties of common beans and pearl millet have been developed successfully and made available with iron contents as high as 100 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg, respectively, two to five times greater than the levels in the regular varieties. This brief review summarizes the research to date on the bioavailability and efficacy of iron-biofortified crops, highlights their potential and limitations, and discusses the way forward with multiple biofortified crop approaches suitable for diverse cultures and socio-economic milieu. Like post-harvest iron fortification, these biofortified combinations might provide enough iron to meet the additional iron needs of many iron deficient women and children that are not covered at present by their traditional diets.Keywords: Biofortification, Iron, Beans, Pearl millet, Rice, Polyphenols, Phytic acid, Anemia, Efficacy, Nutrition-Agriculture linkage

Haematological characteristics at moderate altitude in Rwanda

Background: Haematological adaptation to altitude varies according to populations. We report a study on haematological values in a student population in Butare, Rwanda (altitude: 1768 m; barometric pressure: 629 mm Hg). Objective: To illustrate haematological adaptation to moderate altitude. Setting: Laboratories of physiology and haematology, Butare University Teaching Hospital, Rwanda. Subjects and methods: Healthy young adults were randomly chosen among students of the National University of Rwanda to participate in the study. Radiometer OSM2b Haemoximeter was used to determine haemoglobin concentration. Haematocrit was determined by the micromethod using haematocrit capillaries. The red cell counting was done by the microscopic manual method with a Neubauer haematimeter. Mean cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin and mean cell haemoglobin concentration were calculated from red cell count, haematocrit and haemoglobin concentration. Results: The results – mean and reference range (2.5th–97.5th percentiles) in brackets – are as follows: haemoglobin concentration; males: 156 (136-177) g/L, females: 132 (114-150) g/L; haematocrit: males: 49.0 (43-54) %, females: 42.6 (36-48) %; red cell count: males: 5.01 (4.05-5.75) X 1012/L, females: 4.31 (3.7-4.9) X1012/L; mean cell volume: males: 97 (88-105) fL, females: 96 (87- 104) fL; mean cell haemoglobin: males: 31.1 (26- 36) pg; females: 30.6 (25-35) pg; mean cell haemoglobin concentration: males: 31.8 (27-36) g/dL; females: 31.0 (26-35) g/dL. Conclusion: The results show a normal haemoglobin concentration, a normal red cell count, an increase in haematocrit and mean cell volume, a normal mean cell haemoglobin and a low mean cell haemoglobin concentration. Key words: Rwanda, altitude, haematolog

Assessing the Coverage of Biofortified Foods: Development and Testing of Methods and Indicators in Musanze, Rwanda. Current Developments in Nutrition

Background: Biofortification of staple crops has the potential to increase nutrient intakes and improve health outcomes. Despite program data on the number of farming households reached with and growing biofortified crops, information on the coverage of biofortified foods in the general population is often lacking. Such information is needed to ascertain potential for impact and identify bottlenecks to parts of the impact pathway. Objectives: We aimed to develop and test methods and indicators for assessing household coverage of biofortified foods. Methods: To assess biofortification programs, 5 indicators of population-wide household coverage were developed, building on approaches previously used to assess large-scale food fortification programs. These were 1) consumption of the food; 2) awareness of the biofortified food; 3) availability of the biofortified food; 4) consumption of the biofortified food (ever); and 5) consumption of the biofortified food (current). To ensure that the indicators are applicable to different settings they were tested in a cross-sectional household-based cluster survey in rural and peri-urban areas in Musanze District, Rwanda where planting materials for iron-biofortified beans (IBs) and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSPs) were delivered. Results: Among the 242 households surveyed, consumption of beans and sweet potatoes was 99.2% and 96.3%, respectively. Awareness of IBs or OFSPs was 65.7% and 48.8%, and availability was 23.6% and 10.7%, respectively. Overall, 15.3% and 10.7% of households reported ever consuming IBs and OFSPs, and 10.4% and 2.1% of households were currently consuming these foods, respectively. The major bottlenecks to coverage of biofortified foods were awareness and availability. Conclusions: These methods and indicators fill a gap in the availability of tools to assess coverage of biofortified foods, and the results of the survey highlight their utility for identifying bottlenecks. Further testing is warranted to confirm the generalizability of the coverage indicators and inform their operationalization when deployed in different settings