Co-ordinated research programme on development and application of isotopic techniques in studies of vitamin A nutrition. Report of the first research co- ordination meeting

摘要

In Vitamin A nutrition, evaluations to ascertain the efficacy of intervention strategies are becoming increasingly important. However, state-of- the-art methods for evaluating vitamin A status often do not provide enough quantitative information on vitamin A status and the bioconversion of carotenoids, particularly in people with subclinical vitamin A deficiency. These limitations have had programmatic consequences. The principal reason the new Coordinated Research programme (CRP) was formulated was to improve techniques for measuring vitamin A status and the bioconversion of carotenoids to vitamin A with the expectation that the new methods could contribute meaningfully to field-based evaluations of the efficacy of intervention strategies. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is sponsoring programmes to develop and transfer isotopic techniques to improve nutrition monitoring in developing countries. The New CRP ''Development and Application of Isotopic Techniques in Studies of Vitamin A Nutrition'' has seven teams, six of which are working to develop methods based on orally administered isotopically labelled retinol which will be a valid measure of whole body retinol (mostly hepatic reserves) and useful under typical field conditions, particularly in women and children with marginal vitamin A deficiency. The seventh team is biosynthesizing uniformly deuterated (beta)-carotene by growing foods in deuterated water. This report summarizes the research to be undertaken, as presented at the first Research Co-ordination Meeting. Refs, figs, tabs.