Abstract

Background: The prevalence of anemia for ever married women has increased from 52% in the National Family Health Survey 2 (NFHS)-2 to 56% in NFHS-3. Three decades of iron and folic acid supplementation has failed to improve the situation. Nutrition supplementation by Niger seeds that contain high amount of iron (56.7 mg/100 g of seeds) may be used to increase the hemoglobin level.
Objective: To study the impact of Niger seeds supplementation on hemoglobin level of women with anemia and to assess its adverse effects.
Materials and Methods: The interventional study was conducted among female students of a postgraduate institute of Kolkata, India, from January to May 2014. A total of 80 female students were screened and 35 were found to have anemia. Of 35 students with anemia, 15 were purposively selected. One serving of 25 g Niger seeds chutney supplementation for 30 days was given as intervention. Hemoglobin level was estimated before (0 day) and after supplementation (30 days) by using cyanmethemoglobin method. Result: Mean age of women was 22.2 ± 0.77 years. After intervention, the mean hemoglobin level increased from 10.26 ± 0.89 to 11.23 ± 1.11 g/dL (p < 0.000). Of 15 women with anemia, 5 became non-anemic after taking Niger seeds chutney supplementation for 30 days. Conclusion: Niger seeds supplementation among women with anemia significantly increased the hemoglobin level.