Monday 14 March 2011

MALNUTRITION: The origins of Plumpy'nut

The French doctor André Briend is the father of the “peanut butter” idea, after much thinking about ways of treating severe malnutrition. He realized that this substance keeps well in warm places on people’s shelves without going bad and retains its nutritional value well.
Professor Per Ashorn’s group heard about the idea in the early 2000s and invited Dr. Briend to visit Malawi.
Children with severe malnutrition can be treated in many different ways. But using Plumpy Nut (pictured) all that is needed is three sachets per day and some drinking water. No cooking, no other ingredients, no other meals.
Research on the substance speeded up, and it became famous, largely due to clinical trials and public health interventions conducted in Malawi. Dr. André Briend is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Tampere.
“Remedying a state of malnutrition is quite tricky. If a person is severely undernourished, trying to put things right the wrong way or too fast can even end in death,” says Per Ashorn.
A severely undernourished child should be treated should be treated with three sachets of peanut butter a day and some drinking water. No cooking, no other ingredients, no other meals.
The preparation reminiscent of peanut butter includes milk powder, sugar, peanuts, oil and minerals. The fatty acid component is still under consideration: rape oil has a good consistency but is not easy to obtain in Africa. Soya oil is now being tested.
“Among the ingredients milk power is very costly. It would be nice if we could replace it with something.”
The paste should be as tasty as possible. The sachets go around the world, sometimes there is a meeting to taste the preparation and then it is either accepted or rejected.
As a former green politician Ashorn wants to draw attention to the packaging.
“It’s not a good thing to have the whole of Africa full of this foil. Cans are easier to reuse.”
The company manufacturing Plumpy Nut (pictured) has taken out a free patent on the product, that is, anybody at all can manufacture it locally.
“Whatever country you go to where there is severe malnutrition you will see this product or something like it being used.”
One important question is who should receive the product. In children the onset of malnutrition is generally before birth, possibly even before conception.
Ashorn’s group is currently starting up a new study in Malawi to find out about the combined effect of infections and nutrition and to attempt to make a difference in the nutrition of pregnant women.

http://researchandstudy.uta.fi/2011/03/09/saving-the-world-%E2%80%93-with-peanut-butter/

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