Abstract
Red palm oil (RPO) has been investigated for preventing or alleviating vitamin A deficiency (VAD). Previous data has offered inconclusive and inconsistent results about the effects of RPO in patients with VAD. Our objective was to undertake a meta-analysis to assess the effects of RPO in preventing VAD in the population. After conducting a comprehensive literature search, nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Overall, when trial results were pooled, the results indicated that RPO reduced the risk of VAD (relative risk (RR) (95% confidence interval (CI)) = 0.55 (0.37, 0.82), p = 0.003), increasedserum retinol levels in both children (p < 0.00001) and adults (p = 0.002), and increased β-carotene levels (p = 0.01). However, RPO supplementation did not have a significant overall effect on serum α-carotene levels (p = 0.06), body weight (p = 0.45), and haemoglobin levels (p = 0.72). The results also showed that low level of PRO intake (≤8 g RPO) could increase serum retinol concentrations whereas PRO intake above 8 g did not lead to further increase of serum retinol concentrations. This meta-analysis demonstrated that RPO might be effective for preventing or alleviating VAD.
Highlights
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD, hypovitaminosis A) is a leading cause of preventable blindness and a risk factor for severe infection
Reviews, animal, and vitro experiments, 19 full texts were searched for screening and nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included for this meta-analysis, while
The meta-analysis was divided into two parts: placebo group versus red palm oil (RPO) group, and RPO group versus vitamin A supplement group
Summary
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD, hypovitaminosis A) is a leading cause of preventable blindness and a risk factor for severe infection. It is associated with illness and death, especially in preschool-aged children and pregnant women, and those in low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Southeast Asia [1]. Night blindness affects 5.2 million preschool children and 9.8 million pregnant women. Of the preschool-aged children (190 million individuals) and 15.3% of pregnant women (19 million women) [2]. The main underlying cause of VAD, as a public health problem is a diet that is chronically insufficient in vitamin A [2]. There are two main dietary sources of vitamin A [3]: Preformed vitamin
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