Traditional Galactogogues and the Practices Related to Their Use by Post-Natal Women of India

Abstract

Introduction: Traditional galactogogue recipes are still being used, though not widely, and scientific studies on their use are scanty. This research aimed to study commonly used traditional galactogogue-recipes using primary sources, to bring about nutritional enhancement in most popular recipes and compare the standard and nutrified galactogogue-recipes for nutrients, phytochemicals and sensory qualities. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 120 mothers (older than 20 years) residing in Indian states of Rajasthan and Uttar-Pradesh in their 0-1 year of lactation period who consented to be a part of the study. Background-information and use of galactogogues was collected with the help of self-designed, pre-tested questionnaires. Nutritive-value (moisture, ash, protein, fat, dietary-fibre, carbohydrate, iron, and calcium) of two of the most popular galactogogues ajwain-laddu and harira were calculated to find out the nutrient(s) lacking in it. Ajwain-laddu was nutrified using whole milk-powder, drumstick leaves powder and additional amount of clarified-butter. Harira was nutrified using poppy-seeds, niger-seeds and carrots. Results: The commonly used galactogogues were ajwain-laddu, harira, Gond-laddu, and Sonth-laddu. There was a significant difference between nutrient content of standard and nutrified-recipes (p<0.05) whereas no statistical difference was observed for hedonic rating-scores (p>0.05). Conclusion: Mothers were consuming traditional galactogogues foods in order to increase milk production and strongly believed that regular consumption of galactogogues has enhanced their milk production. To optimize the nutritional value of galactogogues, it is advisable to integrate ingredients abundant in phytochemicals and micronutrients. This can be accomplished while preserving the authentic taste and presentation of these galactogogue-recipes.