Impact Of Feeding Shepu Greens Products On Iron Status Of School Children

As a public health problem in school aged children, anaemia deserves greater attention not only because of its deleterious effects, which include lower school achievement due to impaired cognitive development, fatigue and poor attention span, and increased morbidity because of reduced resistance to infection, but also because of large numbers of school-aged children affected. So an attempt has been made to evaluate the impact of consumption of iron rich bakery products prepared by incorporation of Shepu greens (Peucedanum graveolens) on iron status of children. School children from Government school were estimated for haemoglobin and divided into control and experimental group. Products which were developed by incorporating 5 per cent dried shepu greens in masala bun and rusk were best accepted and taken for feeding trials along with basic recipe. Deworming was carried out before the feeding trials. Intervention programme was carried for 90 days and final hemoglobin estimation was carried out. Results revealed that the feeding with shepu greens incorporated products for 90 days to experimental were shown an improved haemoglobin level (11.8), whereas the control group did not change significantly after intervention. It is evident from the study that, foods play a major role in combating the nutritional deficiency disorders prevalent in the population. So, the green leafy vegetables especially shepu greens can be used for all intervention programmes as supplementation of iron in replace of iron tablets. To ensure the availability of greens, schools can be encouraged to grow nutrition garden, so that can be used in the midday meal preparation.