IJFANS International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences

ISSN PRINT 2319 1775 Online 2320-7876

A Study on the Development and Effectiveness of Iron-Rich Balls from Underutilized Leaf Sources for Anaemia Management in Children

Main Article Content

*Renu Singh1, Kritika Chandna1, Nayan Jain1

Abstract

The present study aimed to develop an iron-rich product from underutilized leaves and see its supplementation effect on anaemic subjects. Four underutilized leaves were selected: amaranth, guava, beetroot, and wheatgrass. All four leaves were dried and ground to form, making iron-rich powder (55g iron/ 100g powder). Iron Balls wereprepared by using dried leaf powder as theyfulfilled the iron needs completely and can be easily consumed by any age group of the population. The intervention of 45 days was done on 20 anaemic subjects (10 experimental groups and 10 control groups)i.e., children 5-11 years of age group.Age, Gender, Education, Eating Habits, Food Consumption, Number of meals and likes and dislikes were collected from the parents of subjects. Haemoglobin estimation and Height and Weight measurements were done for the subjects'pre- and post-supplementation following standard procedures. The experimental subjects were served with 10 Iron Balls each day and control subjects were not provided any supplementation. Intermediate checking whether side effects are seen or not was done. The results of the intervention can be concluded as a significant difference was found in Haemoglobin values of the experimental group before and after 45 daysof intervention (as the p-valuewas <0.05); whereas no significant difference was found in the values ofthe control group. Hence, the product can be used as an iron supplement to meet the daily iron needs of children.

Article Details