ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency among schoolchildren from a rural area in the Distrito Federal, Brazil, and to correlate this with rates of anemia and malnutrition. METHODS: From a total of 179 students, the study recruited 155 schoolchildren (5 to 18 years), whose parents gave permission for blood tests. Plasma retinol concentration was assayed by high resolution liquid chromatography, and levels of plasma vitamin A lower than 20 microg/dL were defined as abnormal or deficient in vitamin A. Hemoglobin was measured by an automated cell counter, and anemia was defined as serum concentrations of less than 11.5 and 12.0 g/dL for children and adolescents, respectively. Nutritional status was assessed using z scores for weight/height, height/age and body mass index percentiles. RESULTS: The results indicated that 33.55% of the schoolchildren tested had a vitamin A deficiency, with a prevalence of 35.44% among children (5-9 years) and 31.58% among adolescents (10-18 years). No correlation was observed between the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency and prevalence rates of anemia or malnutrition. Both sexes and all ages were homogeneous for vitamin A deficiency. CONCLUSIONS: The elevated prevalence of vitamin A deficiency among the children and adolescents attending this rural school identify a public health problem in the region. These results indicate that age groups from 5 years onwards should be included in those at risk of hypovitaminosis A and that they should be included in public policies aimed at combating hypovitaminosis A.
Subject(s)
Anemia/epidemiology , Protein-Energy Malnutrition/epidemiology , Vitamin A Deficiency/epidemiology , Adolescent , Anemia/complications , Anemia/diagnosis , Body Mass Index , Brazil/epidemiology , Child , Child, Preschool , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid , Female , Hemoglobins/analysis , Humans , Male , Nutritional Status , Prevalence , Protein-Energy Malnutrition/complications , Protein-Energy Malnutrition/diagnosis , Rural Population , Socioeconomic Factors , Vitamin A Deficiency/complications , Vitamin A Deficiency/diagnosisABSTRACT
Schizolobium parahyba chymotrypsin inhibitor (SPCI) was completely purified as a single polypeptide chain with two disulfide bonds, by TCA precipitation and ion exchange chromatography. This purification method is faster and more efficient than that previously reported: SPCI is stable from pH 2 to 12 at 25 degrees C, and is highly specific for chymotrypsin at pH 7-12. It weakly inhibits elastase and has no significant inhibitory effect against trypsin and alpha-amylase. SPCI is a thermostable protein and resists thermolysin digestion up to 70 degrees C.
