ABSTRACT
Malnutrition is a major contributor to childhood morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries. A recent survey by the World Health Organization (WHO 2011) estimates that malnutrition is associated with over one third of the 7.6 M children under the age of 5 yr who die every year (WHO). Several terminologies, such as protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) and protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM) have been used to denote severe malnutrition in children. More recently, though, the term severe acute malnutrition (SAM) has been regarded as the most appropriate descriptor for this important health disorder. There is abundant evidence that the pathophysiology of SAM is associated with oxidative stress resulting from a decrease in antioxidant defences, an overproduction of free radicals and other reactive species or a combination of these factors. Reactive species are produced in the body by various processes and reactions. However, the cells and tissues of the body can be protected from damage by free radicals and other reactive species by a broad array of antioxidants comprised mainly of glutathione, vitamins A, C and E, trace elements including selenium
Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, The University of the West Indies at Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica. aEmail: kwesi.marshall@uwimona.edu.jm *Corresponding author: asha.badaloo@uwimona.edu.jm
and zinc and antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX), which together constitute a coordinated anti-oxidant defence network. Notably, trace elements are essential cofactors for many of these antioxidant enzymes.
