Biscuits containing Moringa oleifera leaves flour improve conditions of anemia in pregnant women

Objective: This study analyzes whether anemia in pregnant women improves with indicators of increased hemoglobin, intake of iron and zinc when intervened with biscuits contain Moringa oleifera leaf flour.
Method: It was Quasy experiment carried out at Antang, Mamajang and Batua Public Health Center in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The subject were the pregnant women of Trimester I and III trimesters which are divided into 2 groups with the intervention Group (n = 35) obtained M. oleifera leaf flour biscuits with combination iron tablet and the control group (n = 35) only accept FE tablets. Interven-tion group was given biscuits containing 40% moringa leaf flour (2.8 g per biscuits) with a dose of 2 pieces a day containing Moringa leaf flour and a combination of iron tablets with a dose of 2 times 250 mg, while the control group only consumed iron tablets at a dose of 2 times 250 mg. After 60 days, a posttest was carried out to examine hemoglobin, iron and zinc.
Result: The results showed that there was a significance increasing of hemoglobin after intervention (1.04 g/dl, p = 0.001), increasing of iron intake significantly (2.51 mg, p = 0.001) and zinc intake (0.14 mg, p = 0.144) also increas but not statistically significant. The increase in these three indicators was higher than the control group.
Conclusion: Biscuits containing M. oleifera leaf flour are able to provide improvement in the condition of pregnant mothers who have anemia, especially in hemoglobin levels, iron and zinc intake.