Contribution of Leafy Vegetable Sauces to Dietary Iron, Zinc, Vitamin A and Energy Requirements in Children and Their Mothers in Burkina Faso

Improved leafy vegetable (LV) sauces, with amaranth, sorrel, and Ceylon spinach/spider plant leaves were formulated from traditional recipes to assess their potential use for food-to-food fortification in iron, zinc and vitamin A in the diet of young children and their mothers in Burkina Faso. Improvement was based on an increase in LV proportion and a decrease in mineral absorption inhibitors. An increase in iron content of up to 3 mg/100 g was obtained in some improved sauces in which dried fish was replaced by chicken liver, and vitamin A content was about 40 times higher than in traditional sauces. Fractional dialyzable iron was low in all sauces. Intakes of sauce were measured to assess their acceptability and no significant difference was found between traditional and improved formulations. The mean intakes of sauces were 66 ± 40 g for young children and 166 ± 65 g for their mothers. Amaranth or Ceylon spinach/spider plant sauces, consumed with the cereal based paste “tô” twice a day, would contribute 80 to 86 % of children’s estimated average requirement (EAR) of iron and to 90 to 170 % of EAR of vitamin A but their contribution to zinc and energy needs would remain low.