The clinical and biochemical effects of riboflavin and nicotinamide supplementation upon Bantu school children using maize meal as carrier medium.

A comprehensive clinical, biochemical and technological investigation was undertaken to establish the feasibility of ,enriching maize meal with riboflavin and nicotinamide. It was clear from the results that the addition of these vitamins to, maize satisfied all the prerequisites of a -scientifically sound enrichment scheme, as laid down by the NNRI. It was found that the addition of 1 mg of riboflavin and 10 mg of nicotinamide per 400 g maize ,meal was adequate to effectively reduce the incidence of .subclinical deficiency of these two vitamins among Bantu schoolchildren. Since the enrichment was found to be -effective, as well as technologically and economically jeasible, it is strongly recommended that a compulsory national maize enrichment scheme be introduced with the .least possible delay.