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A Prentice

Publications and source records attributed to A Prentice.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Breast-milk antimicrobial factors of rural Gambian mothers. I. Influence of stage of lactation and maternal plane of nutrition.

The concentrations of IgA, IgG, IgM, C3, C4, lactoferrin, lysozyme and secretory component in the mature breast milk of 152 rural Gambian mothers were measured up to 26 months lactation. The concentrations and daily secretion of all the immunoproteins, except lysozyme, decreased during the first year of lactation, but were well maintained thereafter. The production of lysozyme increased progressively throughout lactation. Compared with 10 mothers in Cambridge, U.K., the daily secretion of IgG, IgM, C3 and C4 was higher in The Gambia, that of IgA and lactoferrin was similar in the two communities, and that of lysozyme and secretory component was lower in The Gambia. A dietary supplement given to 90 Gambian mothers, raised the mean daily energy intake from a maximum of 1650 kcal/day and a hungry-season minimum of 1 200 kcal/day to 2 300 kcal/day throughout the study. The supplement did not enhance the production of breast milk immunoproteins.

Complement C3↗
PubMed1984

Breast-milk antimicrobial factors of rural Gambian mothers. II. Influence of season and prevalence of infection.

The effects of season and variations in the prevalence of infectious disease on the concentrations and daily production of breast-milk immunoproteins were studied in 152 rural Gambian mothers and their children up to 26 months post-partum. IgA, IgG, IgM, C3, C4, lactoferrin, lysozyme and secretory component concentrations and breast-milk volumes were measured longitudinally over a six month period which encompassed dry and rainy seasons. No increase in the production of any immunoprotein was observed at the time of maximum prevalence of serious infectious diseases, especially diarrhoea, in the children. Enhanced secretion of certain immunoproteins was noted in mothers of children aged 9-18 months at the beginning of the rainy season. There was some evidence that this may have been associated with skin sepsis, particularly impetigo, in the children. The production of most immunoproteins fell during the rainy season. This was not the result of declining maternal food intakes as similar decreases were seen for women receiving a dietary supplement.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMed1983

Determinants of variations in breast milk protective factor concentrations of rural Gambian mothers.

The concentrations of 7 immunoproteins (IgA, IgG, IgM, the complement components C3 and C4, lactoferrin, and lysozyme) in the breast milk of 152 rural west African women were measured as part of a semilongitudinal study to assess their importance in infant health. Each mother maintained a characteristic level of production of immunoproteins relative to other mothers, and the concentration of each immunoprotein within each woman was correlated positively with the others. Parity was the major determinant of ranking and mothers of parity 1 and 2 produced the highest concentrations of immunoproteins. Except for lysozyme, infants' intake of these protective factors decreased in early lactation, but infants aged 1-2 years still received substantial amounts. The daily intakes by Gambian infants were similar to or higher than those of infants in Cambridge, United Kingdom. A marked seasonal increase in infant morbidity was not accompanied by an increase in the concentrations of protective factors in mothers' milk.

Complement System Proteins↗
PubMed1983

Dietary supplementation of lactating Gambian women. I. Effect on breast-milk volume and quality.

In order to test whether lactational capacity can be improved by dietary interventions, a nutritionally balanced supplement was provided under carefully controlled conditions to 130 nursing mothers in Keneba, The Gambia over 12 months. Maternal mean energy intake (+/- s.e.) increased from 1568 +/- 15 kcal/d (6.56 +/- 0.06 MJ/d) to 2291 +/- 14 kcal/d (9.59 +/- 0.06 MJ/d). Protein intake was in excess of the WHO/FAO recommended intake after supplementation and serious deficits of riboflavin, vitamin A, vitamin C and calcium were rectified. The supplement had no effect on breast-milk volume, compared with retrospective controls, at any stage of lactation or in any season of the year. There was no selective effect on women with poor milk outputs. The average milk protein concentration was slightly improved over the entire period of lactation (+ 6.6 per cent, P less than 0.01), but the total energy content was unchanged since an increase in breast-milk fat concentration (+ 7.9 per cent, n.s.) was offset by a decrease in the milk lactose concentration (- 7.6 per cent, P less than 0.01). Breast milk vitamin content was improved for those vitamins for which the supplement provided a significant proportion of the recommended dietary intake.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Metabolic consequences of fasting during Ramadan in pregnant and lactating women.

In studies in a rural West African village it was observed that all lactating women and 90 per cent of pregnant women fasted throughout the period of Ramadan. The metabolic consequences of this fasting were studied by measuring serum glucose, free fatty acid, triglyceride, beta-hydroxybutyrate, alanine, insulin, glucagon and T3 levels at 0700 h and 1900 h in 22 pregnant, 10 lactating and 10 non-pregnant, non-lactating women. Results were also compared with overnight-fasted values obtained outside Ramadan. Values for the lactating women were not significantly different from the non-pregnant, non-lactating controls despite the additional metabolic stress of lactation. Ramadan-fasted (1900 h) glucose values from women in late pregnancy (3.01 +/- 0.11 mmol/l) were significantly lower than all other groups (P less than 0.01) and were 15 per cent (P less than 0.01) lower than overnight-fasted values from similar subjects. Ramadan-fasted free fatty acid and beta-hydroxybutyrate levels were significantly higher (P less than 0.05) and alanine values were significantly lower (P less than 0.05) in late than in early pregnancy. It is concluded that the phenomenon of 'accelerated starvation' occurs when women in late pregnancy fast during Ramadan. The possible consequences of this failure to maintain glucose homoeostasis are discussed with reference to the poor outcome of the actual pregnancies studied.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗
PubMed1983

The effect of vitamin C supplementation on lactating women in Keneba, a West African rural community.

A study of vitamin C requirements was undertaken in the village of Keneba, The Gambia, during the rainy season, when the intake of vitamin C-rich foods is very low. The effect of four supplementary levels of vitamin C (0, 24, 47 and 60 mg/day), together with a milk and biscuit food supplement which provided 34 mg vitamin C/day, was studied for a five-week period. Plasma ascorbate increased from 0.25 to 0.72 mg/dl; buffy coat ascorbate increased from 14.7 to 24.3 micrograms/10(8) cells and breast milk ascorbate increased from 3.4 to 5.5 mg/dl as intake increased from 34 to 103 mg/dl. Breast milk ascorbate approached a plateau at the high intakes. A fasting plasma ascorbate of at least 0.3 mg/dl in 97.5% of the population of lactating women in Keneba would require a daily vitamin C intake of about 117 mg. No differences between vitamin C supplementation levels were observed with respect to changes in plasma iron, total iron-binding capacity or its percentage saturation. Whole blood histamine levels showed a slight downward trend as the vitamin C intake increased.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Seasonal variations in ascorbic acid status and breast milk ascorbic acid levels in rural Gambian women in relation to dietary intake.

Vitamin C intakes from mangoes and oranges, and plasma and breast milk ascorbic acid concentrations were measured at regular intervals in a cohort of pregnant and lactating women in Keneba and Manduar, two neighbouring rural Gambian villages. Extremely wide seasonal variations in plasma ascorbic acid levels were observed, the peak during the mango season in May and June attaining mean levels of 1.4 mg/dl, while the lowest levels, averaging only 0.2 mg/dl, were observed during the rainy season, during September and October. Parallel, but less pronounced variations were observed in breast milk ascorbate levels. A vitamin-fortified milk and biscuit supplement, given first to the lactating, and later to the pregnant, mothers in Keneba, which provided about 35 mg ascorbic acid per day, failed to produce any major improvement in plasma ascorbic acid levels during the rainy season, although there was some evidence for an improvement in breast milk levels. It is therefore likely that considerably greater intakes are required to maintain satisfactory maternal circulating levels and biochemical status during this critical period.

Ascorbic Acid↗
PubMed1982

Riboflavin status in infants born in rural Gambia, and the effect of a weaning food supplement.

Riboflavin status was measured in infants between birth and two years of age, by the erythrocyte glutathione reductase (NAD(P)H2: glutathione oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.4.2) test on finger-prick blood samples. The infants were living in three rural Gambian villages: Keneba, Manduar and Kanton Kundar; those in Keneba were receiving a weaning food supplement between three and 12 months, which provided 0.15 to 0.20 mg riboflavin per day, in addition to their normal intake from breast milk and locally available weaning foods, which provided 0.13 to 0.21 mg/day over the same age range. On the basis of currently accepted criteria of biochemical normality, the unsupplemented infants were born deficient and, in the absence of a supplement, remained so throughout their first two years of life, with only a minor, short-lived improvement during the first few months. In the supplemented group, however, riboflavin status fell within normal limits for the duration of the supplement, but rapidly deteriorated again once the supplement was withdrawn. It is concluded that infants born to deficient mothers are usually deficient at birth, and remain so throughout suckling and weaning on to locally available foods. The daily requirement, to achieve satisfactory biochemical status, is thus greater than 0.13 to 0.21 mg/day, and probably approaches 0.4 mg/day, for most individuals up to the age of one year.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1982

Physiological tests during an improvement in riboflavin status in lactating Gambian women.

During several weeks riboflavin supplementation of lactating African women, which reduced their mean activation coefficient of erythrocyte glutathione reductase (EGRAC) from 1.65 to 1.21 and initiated an improvement in clinical deficiency signs, measurements were made of physiological functions which may be connected with riboflavin status. No specific response to the supplement could be detected in body weight, grip strength, haematological parameters, osmotic fragility and resistance to oxidative stress of erythrocytes, plasma iron levels and related indices, or plasma hormone levels. There was a cross-sectional relationship between erythrocyte distribution on Percoll density gradients and EGRAC before supplementation, and between the Percoll pattern and total haemoglobin concentration. It is not yet known, however, whether a direct causal relationship exists between these variables.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Dietary supplementation of Gambian nursing mothers and lactational performance.

A dietary supplement, resulting in a mean net increase in energy intake of over 700 kcal/day, was supplied to all nursing mothers in a West African village for 12 months. The supplement produced a slight initial improvement in maternal body weight and subcutaneous fat stores but did not increase breast-milk output or fat content.

Body Weight↗