An interventional study of caterpillar cereal in Malnutrition and Stunting of Growth, sponsored by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Completed at 1 site in Congo. Open to participants aged 8 Months to 10 Months, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2011-08-30.
Sponsored by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
Two in every three infants in rural areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) suffer from stunting of linear growth by 12 months of age. Stunting presumably results from breast milk supplementation after 6 months of age with complementary foods (CF) that provide inadequate protein and micronutrients. Although supplementation with selected micronutrients may avoid certain deficiency states, CF with animal source foods may be necessary to avoid stunting. Meat is not readily available in many Central African countries. However caterpillars, which are locally available and abundant, are a common staple in adult diets and may be a suitable substitute for animal source proteins in CF. The investigators developed a cereal made from dried caterpillars that has a nutrient content that appears to be ideal for CF. Maternal and infant acceptability will be evaluated in 20 mothers and their 8 month old infants. The investigators hypothesize that this cereal will be accepted by both mothers and infants: acceptability will be based on a priori definitions.
In preparation for a controlled study of the efficacy of daily intake of caterpillar cereal versus the usual diet from 6 to 18 months of age in reducing the rate of stunting of linear growth, and the improvement in other health outcomes, we will conduct an acceptability trial. In this trial, we will test the mothers' acceptance of the caterpillar cereal and their willingness to feed their young children this product. We will also test the infants' acceptance and their capacity to consume quantities required in the controlled trial necessary to deliver the desired quantities of micronutrients.
Study Design
A cohort of 20 mother-infant dyads will be recruited. The site of recruitment will be the area Health Center. Infants will be between 8 and 10 months of age and will have no major health problems. Infants with minor, inter-current illnesses at the time of recruitment that might interfere with oral intake will be excluded. After informed consent, maternal and infant acceptability will be tested using the methods described below.
Maternal Acceptability
Mothers will be provided with a 30 g portion of caterpillar cereal and will be instructed in the proper technique for preparation. After preparation, mothers will be asked to evaluate five features of the cereal. They will also be asked to provide their overall impression of the cereal. In each category, the evaluation will be assigned a numerical score using a five-part Likert scale, from "like very much" to "dislike very much".
The evaluation will be conducted by the Community Coordinator (CC) who will provide instruction about cereal preparation and administer the evaluative tool. Each evaluation will be conducted confidentially. Mothers will not be aware of the response of other mothers. At the conclusion of a one-week period of feeding (see below), a questionnaire will be administered to assess mothers' attitudes about their willingness to participate in a one-year study of cereal feeding.
We do not intend to evaluate their attitudes about food preparation. The recommended preparation technique of the caterpillar cereal is very similar to preparation of enriched soy cereal in our ongoing complementary feeding study. This involves boiling water and cooking the cereal for approximately three minutes. Although this preparation technique is burdensome, it has not compromised compliance in the ongoing study. Therefore, we would expect a similar response from mothers in the proposed study.
Infant Acceptability
Following the evaluation of maternal acceptability, each mother will be provided with a one-week supply of caterpillar cereal (7 individual packets containing 30 g each). She will be instructed to begin daily feedings on the following day, and to continue until the cereal packets have all been used. The first feeding will occur during a home visit by the CC, who will repeat the preparation instructions, and will observe the first feeding. The CC will return to the home on alternate days throughout the week to reinforce instructions regarding preparation, and to make observations about infant feeding habits. Although frequent visits may influence the likelihood of maternal compliance and hence may mislead investigators about maternal acceptability, it will not effect infant acceptability.
Mothers will be instructed not to feed the cereal to other household members, and will be asked to return uneaten cereal to the original packet for collection by the CC at the end of the week.
On the 8th day, the day following the completion of use of the cereal, the CC will return to the home for the purpose of data collection. The CC will administer a 24-hour dietary recall, and collect all cereal packets. In addition, mothers will be asked questions about the infant's health status.
1,277 studies on the registry are indexed under Malnutrition; 230 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 40 is below the median of 118 across 843 interventional studies indexed under Malnutrition.
Browse Malnutrition studies →University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill is the lead sponsor of 1,372 studies on the registry; 133 are open to participants now.
Of its 161 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 139 (86%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
The feeding group will include 20 mother/infant dyads. The infants will be between 8 and 10 months of age.
Dietary Supplement: caterpillar cereal
A 30 gram portion of a cereal containing one part dried, ground caterpillar, one part corn flour and small quantities of sugar and palm oil will be evaluated by the mothers and then fed daily for seven days to infants.
Maternal acceptability
Maternal acceptability will be defined as a median score for each of 5 features (smell, taste, texture, color, consistency, overall impression) of 3 or greater on a 5 point Likert scale.
Time frame: Maternal acceptability will be measured on the first day of the trial.
Infant acceptability
Each mother will be provided with a one-week supply of caterpillar cereal and will be instructed to begin daily feedings for a period of one week. Infant acceptability will be defined as the consumption of greater than 75% of the total cereal allotment by all infants during the last four days of feeding.
Time frame: Infant acceptability will be measured during the one week study period.
Infant tolerance
During the visits by the Community Coordinator, mothers will be asked question about the infant's health status and specifically about any signs or symptoms attributable to feeding. Tolerance will be defined as the absence of signs or symptoms attributable to cereal consumption (diarrhea or emesis unless other family members have developed these symptoms during the week of feeding).
Time frame: This outcome will be measured throughout the one week intervention.
This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2011. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill →