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Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 28, No. 2, 169-176 (2009)
Published by the American College of Nutrition

Beneficial Role of Green Plantain [Musa paradisiaca] in the Management of Persistent Diarrhea: A Prospective Randomized Trial

Thais Álvarez-Acosta, MD, Cira León, LN, Salvador Acosta-González, MD, Haydeé Parra-Soto, MD, Isabel Cluet-Rodriguez, MD, Maria Rosario Rossell, MD and José A. Colina-Chourio, MD

Departments of Pediatrics (T.A.-A., I.C.-R., M.R.R.)
Nutrition (C.L.)
Hospital Universitario de Maracaibo Centro Médico San Francisco (S.A.-G.)
Hospital de Especialidades Pediátricas (H.P.-S.)
Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine (J.A.C.-Ch.), Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, VENEZUELA

Address reprint requests to: Dr. T. Álvarez-Acosta, Hospital Universitario de Maracaibo, Departamento de Pediatria, Maracaibo, Venezuela. E-mail: thaisalvarezl7{at}hotmail.com

Objective: To evaluate the beneficial effects of green plantain-based diet on stool volume, frequency and weight gain as compared with a traditional yogurt-based diet in children with persistent diarrhea.

Methods: In a prospective, in-hospital controlled trial, two different treatments were administered to a sample of 80 children of both sexes, with ages ranging from 1 to 28 months, who had experienced ≥ 14 days of persistent diarrhea. The sample was divided into two groups of isocaloric (100 kcal/kg/d) diets: experimental and control, of 40 patients each. The experimental group was randomly given a-week treatment consisting of a 50 g/L of cooked green plantain-based diet. The control group was fed on a yogurt-based diet.

Results: Both groups were not statistically different at admission. Pathogens were isolated from stools in 21.2% and 25% of patients in the experimental and control groups respectively; Aeromonas hydrophilia and Shigela flexneri were the most frequently found bacteria. The experimental group fed on a green plantain diet had a significantly better response in: diminishing stool output and consistency (p < 0.002), stool weight, diarrhea duration (p < 0.001), and increasing daily body weight gain (p < 0.001) than the yogurt-based diet group. The average duration of diarrhea in the plantain-based diet group was 18 hours shorter (p < 0.005) and it also had lower cost (p < 0.005).

Conclusion: Our results support the benefits of green plantain in the dietary management of persistent diarrhea in hospitalized children, in relation to diarrheal duration, weight gain and costs.

Key words: persistent diarrhea, dietary treatment, bananas, plantain, Musa paradisiaca, undernutrtion






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