Examining the effectiveness and acceptability of the use of bio-fortified crops in alleviating micronutrient deficiencies in Pakistan

检查使用生物强化作物缓解巴基斯坦微量营养素缺乏的有效性和可接受性

• 批准号: BB/P02338X/1
• 负责人: Nicola Lowe
• 金额: $ 38.44万
• 依托单位: University of Central Lancashire
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2017 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FP02338X%2F1
• 关键词: Examining; effectiveness; acceptability; use; bio

According to the World Health Organisation, dietary zinc deficiency is a global problem affecting 17% of the world's population, with the greatest burden in developing countries. The most recent national survey in Pakistan indicates that over 40% of women are zinc deficient, compared with less than 15% in Europe and North America. The consequences of zinc deficiency are profound and far reaching, ranging from stunted growth and development in children, increased susceptibility to infections in children and adults, and complications during pregnancy and childbirth. This has a negative economic impact on the family, the community and the region.Various strategies to overcome zinc deficiency have been attempted but it is difficult to achieve when large populations are concerned. Dietary zinc supplements are expensive and do not always reach the most vulnerable groups who may live in remote or difficult to reach locations due to poor infrastructure or security problems. In contrast, biofortification of staple foods has potential as a sustainable means of increasing population dietary zinc intake. However to date, few studies have been undertaken to evaluate the efficacy and cultural acceptability of this strategy. One of the key challenges in measuring the effectiveness of such strategies is the lack of a sensitive biomarker of zinc status that is suitable for use in remote settingsWe have an opportunity to evaluate the potential of a newly developed strain of biofortified wheat, produced by HarvestPlus, as a means of increasing dietary zinc intake in Pakistan. Through a collaboration with a Pakistan based fertilizer company, we will examine the impact of fertilization strategies and soil conditions on the wheat zinc content by of the addition of zinc rich fertilizer to the soil and foliage during the growing season in regions of Pakistan with contrasting soil zinc status. Previous studies have indicated that this new strain of wheat has potential to reach a zinc content that is around 45% higher than the standard varieties. The grain grown in our study will be analysed to measure the zinc content, and also the location of the zinc within the individual grains.A double blind trial will be conducted to examine whether or not consuming the flour made from the high zinc grain has a beneficial impact on the zinc status of zinc deficient women living in a rural community in North West Pakistan. The high zinc grain will be compared with standard grain, both of which will be provided to forty families to consume for eight weeks, with group A (20 families) consuming the high zinc grain, and group B (20 families) consuming the control grain. The families will switch over after eight weeks. To monitor the impact of consuming the flour on zinc status we will use established methods (plasma and hair zinc concentration), and we will also evaluate new indicators of zinc status that have potential for use in population based surveys, including markers of DNA damage and a novel portable laser technique for measuring nail Zn concentration. The success of a biofortification strategy requires that the intervention achieves wide and sustained uptake at production and consumption stages. Therefore, through our extensive and established networks with community leaders and farmers, we will assess the cultural context, traditions, knowledge and attitudes to biofortification in this setting, through focus groups and interviews. A key component of this research is training and capacity building. This is a two-way process by which expertise is shared among the project partners, so that young researchers in Pakistan and in the UK are better equipped to take this important research agenda forward into the future, and to build on the collaborative links generated during this project. The findings of this research will be disseminated to researchers and policy makers word wide.

根据世界卫生组织的数据，饮食锌的缺乏症是一个全球问题，影响了世界人口的17％，在发展中国家负担最大。巴基斯坦的最新全国调查表明，超过40％的妇女缺乏锌，而欧洲和北美则不到15％。锌缺乏症的后果是深远而遥远的，范围从儿童的发育迟缓和发育，增加儿童和成人感染的易感性以及怀孕和分娩时并发症。这对家庭，社区和地区产生了负面的经济影响。已经尝试克服锌缺乏的策略，但是当涉及大量人口时，很难实现。饮食锌补充剂很昂贵，由于基础设施不良或安全问题，他们并不总是到达可能生活在偏远或难以到达位置的最脆弱的群体。相比之下，主食食品的生物实力具有潜力，可以作为增加人口饮食锌摄入量的可持续方法。但是，迄今为止，很少有研究能够评估该策略的疗效和文化可接受性。衡量此类策略有效性的主要挑战之一是缺乏适合在远程环境中使用的敏感生物标志物，我们有机会评估新开发的生物型小麦菌株的潜力，这是由Harvestplus产生的，作为一种增加帕基斯坦饮食锌摄入量的手段。通过与巴基斯坦一家肥料公司的合作，我们将通过在巴基斯坦地区的生长季节将富含锌的肥料添加到土壤和叶子的情况下，以与土壤对比的土壤状态相比，通过向土壤和叶子中添加富含锌和叶子的施肥策略和土壤状况对小麦锌含量的影响。先前的研究表明，这种新的小麦菌株有可能达到比标准品种高约45％的锌含量。我们的研究中生长的谷物将进行分析以测量锌含量，以及锌在单个谷物中的位置。将进行双重盲试验，以检查是否消耗由高锌谷物制成的面粉是否对生活在西帕基斯坦一个农村社区中的锌状况不足的锌状态产生有益的影响。高锌谷物将与标准谷物进行比较，标准谷物将提供给40个家庭，以消费八周，而A组（20个家庭）消耗了高锌谷物，而B组（20个家庭）消耗了对照谷物。八周后，家庭将转换。为了监测面粉对锌状态的影响，我们将使用已建立的方法（等离子体和锌浓度），我们还将评估具有在基于人群的调查中使用的锌状态的新指标，包括DNA损伤的标志和一种新型的便携式激光技术来测量指甲Zn浓度。生物强化策略的成功要求干预在生产和消费阶段实现广泛而持续的吸收。因此，通过我们与社区领导者和农民的广泛和建立的网络，我们将通过焦点小组和访谈来评估在这种情况下对生物进行生物实现的文化背景，传统，知识和态度。这项研究的关键组成部分是培训和能力建设。这是一个双向过程，通过该过程在项目合作伙伴之间共享专业知识，因此，巴基斯坦和英国的年轻研究人员可以更好地将这一重要的研究议程推向未来，并建立在该项目期间产生的协作链接的基础上。这项研究的发现将传播给研究人员和政策制定者宽泛的话。

项目成果

Effect of agronomically biofortified zinc flour on zinc and selenium status in resource poor settings; a randomised control trial

• DOI: 10.1017/s0029665117003457
• 发表时间: 2017-01-01
• 期刊: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NUTRITION SOCIETY
• 影响因子: 7
• 作者: Khan, M. J.;Ullah, U.;Young, S.
• 通讯作者: Young, S.

Micronutrient Status and Dietary Diversity of Women of Reproductive Age in Rural Pakistan.

• DOI: 10.3390/nu12113407
• 发表时间: 2020-11-06
• 期刊: Nutrients
• 影响因子: 5.9
• 作者: Brazier AKM;Lowe NM;Zaman M;Shahzad B;Ohly H;McArdle HJ;Ullah U;Broadley MR;Bailey EH;Young SD;Tishkovskaya S;Khan MJ
• 通讯作者: Khan MJ

Can an ethics code help to achieve equity in international research collaborations? Implementing the global code of conduct for research in resource-poor settings in India and Pakistan

道德准则能否帮助实现国际研究合作的公平？

• DOI: 10.1177/17470161221111059
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Research Ethics
• 影响因子: 1.7
• 作者: Chatfield K

Fortification or biofortification: complimentary strategies or duplication of effort?

• DOI: 10.1017/s0029665124000041
• 发表时间: 2024-01-10
• 期刊: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NUTRITION SOCIETY
• 影响因子: 7
• 作者: Lowe，Nicola Mary

Examining the effectiveness of consuming flour made from agronomically biofortified wheat (Zincol-2016/NR-421) for improving Zn status in women in a low-resource setting in Pakistan: study protocol for a randomised, double-blind, controlled cross-over trial (BiZiFED).

• DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-021364
• 发表时间: 2018-04-17
• 期刊: BMJ open
• 影响因子: 2.9
• 作者: Lowe NM;Khan MJ;Broadley MR;Zia MH;McArdle HJ;Joy EJM;Ohly H;Shahzad B;Ullah U;Kabana G;Medhi R;Afridi MZ
• 通讯作者: Afridi MZ