Linear growth of infants aged 0-6 months in breastfeeding mothers who consume Moringa oleifera leaf extract capsules: randomized controlled doubleblind design

Abstract

The prevalence of stunting in children in Indonesia is still high. However, linear growth and infant growth rates are relatively rarely published. This study aimed to analyse the effect of linear growth and growth rate of infants aged 0-6 months exclusively breastfed on mothers who consumed Moringa leaf extract and Moringa leaf powder supplements. The design of this study was a randomized controlled Double-Blind Design. Subjects were divided into 35 intervention groups and 35 control groups. The intervention group was given Moringa extract capsules (3.2 g/day) and breastfeeding education, while the control group was given Moringa leaf powder capsules (3.2 g/day) and breastfeeding education for about 3 months. Infant growth was followed until the age of 6 months, the variables of infant growth were expressed in weight for age, body length for age and growth based on the nutritional status of the infant expressed in the Z score of weight for age (W/A), Z score of body length for age (BL/A), Z score of body weight for body length (BW/BL) and Z score of body mass index for age (BMI/A). Statistical analysis with paired T-test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, and Exat Fisher Test. The results showed that the growth of body weight, body length, and BL/A were not different between the intervention group and the control group (p>0.05). Especially for the Z score of BW/A, BW/BL, BMI/A found a difference between the intervention and control groups with a p-value <0.05. The conclusion of the research is the growth rate of weight and length of infants aged 0-6 months were influenced by birth weight, infant morbidity, and exclusive breastfeeding status. The difference in the average deviation of the Z score value from the four anthropometric indices (BW/A, BW/BL, and BMI/A) roled in the administration of Moringa extract.