Effects of leaves on hemoglobin and serum retinol levels and underweight status among adolescent girls in rural Bangladesh.

Objectives: has been used for centuries due to its medicinal properties and health benefits. The plant has antifungal, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory properties. We aimed to evaluate the effect of consumption of Moringa leaves, along with a regular diet on serum hemoglobin and retinol and underweight status among rural Bangladeshi adolescent girls.

Methods: This school-based quasi-experimental study involved 226 adolescent girls (12-14 years-old). Intervention group ( = 113) received a meal comprising rice, concentrated dal, and fried potato with Moringa pakora (oil-fried snack); the control group (at a different school in an adjacent area with similar population demographics) received calorie-matched meal without Moringa pakora for 6 months. We used generalized liner regression (GLM) analysis, to explore the effect of the intervention among the groups between baseline and endline.

Results: Mean age of the intervention and control groups were 12.7 ± 0.7 and 13.3 ± 0.8 years, respectively. After adjusting for maternal education, absenteeism, asset index, BMI-for-age Z-score, GLM regression showed significant positive changes in hemoglobin (intervention vs. control: coef = 0.41, = 0.010) and serum retinol (coef = 0.27, = 0.00). No significant changes in weight was observed between groups.

Conclusion: Consumption of Moringa leaves has the potential to improving hemoglobin and serum retinol level and should be encouraged as regular diet.