{"title":"Unlocking Hope: Development of India's First Indigenous Ketogenic Dietary Formula for Pediatric Epilepsy Care.","authors":"Soma Basu, A J Hemamalini","doi":"10.4103/aian.aian_155_25","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Epilepsy affects millions of children worldwide, with 30% of cases being resistant to conventional antiseizure medications, necessitating alternative treatments. The ketogenic diet, a high-fat, low-carbohydrate regimen, is effective in drug-resistant epilepsy, but access to affordable, culturally appropriate ketogenic products remains a challenge in developing countries. This study aims to develop the first indigenous ketogenic formula for children with drug-resistant epilepsy, using locally sourced, culturally appropriate ingredients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A ketogenic formula was developed using coconut milk powder, almond flour, soya flour, rice flakes, Bengal gram dal, and coconut oil, ensuring adaptability to ketogenic ratios (1:1 to 4:1). Organoleptic evaluation was conducted with neurologists, dietitians, parents, and children to assess taste, texture, and acceptability. Microbial safety and nutritional analysis ensured compliance with dietary requirements.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The developed ketogenic formula demonstrated high acceptability across all groups, with neurologists, dietitians, parents, and children giving hedonic scores of 8.8, 8.6, 8.4, and 8.2, respectively. Microbial testing confirmed safety, with no pathogenic bacteria detected. Nutritional analysis confirmed adherence to dietary standards with an energy content 564.99 kcal, fat content 37.99 g, protein content 9.1 g, and carbohydrates 46.67 g. The developed ketogenic formula also maintained its quality and safety throughout a 6-month shelf life study without use of any preservatives.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study successfully developed a culturally appropriate, cost-effective ketogenic formula, addressing barriers to epilepsy management in resource-limited settings. Its high acceptability, safety, and adaptability suggest its potential for widespread use. Future clinical trials will assess its long-term efficacy and broader applicability.</p>","PeriodicalId":8036,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4103/aian.aian_155_25","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background and objectives: Epilepsy affects millions of children worldwide, with 30% of cases being resistant to conventional antiseizure medications, necessitating alternative treatments. The ketogenic diet, a high-fat, low-carbohydrate regimen, is effective in drug-resistant epilepsy, but access to affordable, culturally appropriate ketogenic products remains a challenge in developing countries. This study aims to develop the first indigenous ketogenic formula for children with drug-resistant epilepsy, using locally sourced, culturally appropriate ingredients.
Methods: A ketogenic formula was developed using coconut milk powder, almond flour, soya flour, rice flakes, Bengal gram dal, and coconut oil, ensuring adaptability to ketogenic ratios (1:1 to 4:1). Organoleptic evaluation was conducted with neurologists, dietitians, parents, and children to assess taste, texture, and acceptability. Microbial safety and nutritional analysis ensured compliance with dietary requirements.
Results: The developed ketogenic formula demonstrated high acceptability across all groups, with neurologists, dietitians, parents, and children giving hedonic scores of 8.8, 8.6, 8.4, and 8.2, respectively. Microbial testing confirmed safety, with no pathogenic bacteria detected. Nutritional analysis confirmed adherence to dietary standards with an energy content 564.99 kcal, fat content 37.99 g, protein content 9.1 g, and carbohydrates 46.67 g. The developed ketogenic formula also maintained its quality and safety throughout a 6-month shelf life study without use of any preservatives.
Conclusions: This study successfully developed a culturally appropriate, cost-effective ketogenic formula, addressing barriers to epilepsy management in resource-limited settings. Its high acceptability, safety, and adaptability suggest its potential for widespread use. Future clinical trials will assess its long-term efficacy and broader applicability.
期刊介绍：
The journal has a clinical foundation and has been utilized most by clinical neurologists for improving the practice of neurology. While the focus is on neurology in India, the journal publishes manuscripts of high value from all parts of the world. Journal publishes reviews of various types, original articles, short communications, interesting images and case reports. The journal respects the scientific submission of its authors and believes in following an expeditious double-blind peer review process and endeavors to complete the review process within scheduled time frame. A significant effort from the author and the journal perhaps enables to strike an equilibrium to meet the professional expectations of the peers in the world of scientific publication. AIAN believes in safeguarding the privacy rights of human subjects. In order to comply with it, the journal instructs all authors when uploading the manuscript to also add the ethical clearance (human/animals)/ informed consent of subject in the manuscript. This applies to the study/case report that involves animal/human subjects/human specimens e.g. extracted tooth part/soft tissue for biopsy/in vitro analysis.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
