Beneficial role of green plantain [Musa paradisiaca] in the management of persistent diarrhea: a prospective randomized trial.
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 >or= 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).


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Alvarez-Acosta
Thais
T
Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Universitario de Maracaibo, Centro Médico, San Francisco, CA, USA. thaisalvarezl7@hotmail.com
León
Cira
C
Acosta-González
Salvador
S
Parra-Soto
Haydeé
H
Cluet-Rodriguez
Isabel
I
Rossell
Maria Rosario
MR
Colina-Chourio
José A
JA
D000333:Aeromonas; D003672:Defecation / Q000187:drug effects*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D028521:Musa; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012760:Shigella; D013997:Time Factors; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000187:drug effects*; D015014:Yogurt