摘要：This research aimed to assess the efficacy of non-branded cooking oil fortified with carotene from red palm oil (RPO) on blood retinol and IgG level. Quasi-experimental pre- and post-treatment controlled trial design was applied in this study on 31 elementary school children aged 7-9 years, divided into control group (n = 16) and RPO group (n = 15). This research was conducted in Angsana Village, Leuwiliang Sub-district, located in Bogor Regency, Indonesia. The childrens families received non-branded cooking oil once a week (1 kg/week) for eight weeks. Retinol concentration and IgG level in blood were assessed at baseline and after eight weeks. Results showed that serum retinol level increased by 5.31 μg/dL (50.9%) in the RPO group and 3.25 μg/dL (29.8%) in the control group. Statistical tests showed that serum retinol levels in both groups were not significantly different (p>0.05), either before or after the intervention. Similar results were shown in the delta of serum retinol level before and after the intervention between the RPO and control groups (p = 0.062). Based on the paired t-test, serum retinol levels in both groups were significantly different before and after the intervention (p = 0000). The average of vitamin A sufficiency increased in both groups, but only the RPO group that was categorized as sufficient. The average of IgG level in the control group was significantly different from the RPO group before the intervention (p<0.05), but there were no differences between control group and RPO group after the intervention. Intervention using non-branded cooking oil fortified with carotene from RPO tended to increase blood retinol level but did not increase IgG level.
