Vitamin A an Anti-Inflammatory

BOSTON--In a randomized study, 127 Mexican children ages 5 to 15 months were given vitamin A supplements (<12 months of age received 20,000 IU of retinol; and 12 mos., 45,000 IU) every two months or a placebo as part of a larger vitamin A trial. Stools were collected during thesummer months and screened for monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and gastrointestinal pathogens. Fecal MCP-1 concentrations, determined by anenzyme-linked immuno absorption assay, were compared; values of MCP-1 were categorized into 3 levels: nondetectable,<median and median. Multinomial logistic regression modelswere used to determine whether vitamin A-supplemented childrenhad different categorical values of MCP-1 compared with childrenin the placebo group. Differences in categorical values werealso analyzed by gastrointestinal pathogen infectionsand by diarrheal symptoms. Overall, children who received thevitamin A supplement had reduced fecal concentrations of MCP-1compared with children in the placebo group (median pg/mg protein± interquartile range: 284.88 ± 885.35 vs. 403.39± 913.16; odds ratio 0.64, 95 percent CI 0.4297, P =0.03). Vitamin A supplemented children infected with enteropathogenicEscherichia coli (EPEC) had reduced MCP-1 levels (odds ratio= 0.38, 95% CI 0.180.80) compared with placebo. And, among children not infected with Ascaris lumbricoide, vitamin A supplemented children had reduced MCP-1 levels (OR= 0.62, 95 percent CI 0.410.94). The findings suggest thatvitamin A has an anti-inflammatory effect in the gastrointestinaltract by reducing MCP-1 concentrations. The study was published in theJournal of Nutrition (136: 2600-2605, 2006) and conducted by several institutions, including the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass., Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez, Mexico City, Mexico, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, Texas and others.