Developing shelf-stable Microbiota Directed Complementary Food (MDCF) prototypes for malnourished children: study protocol for a randomized, single-blinded, clinical study

BACKGROUND: Childhood undernutrition is a major public health concern that needs special attention to achieve 2025 global nutrition targets. Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), manifest as wasting (low weight-for-height), affects 33 million children under 5, yet there are currently no global guidelines for its treatment. We recently performed a randomized-controlled clinical study of a microbiota-directed complementary food formulation (MDCF-2) in 12-18-month-old Bangladeshi children with MAM. The results revealed that MDCF-2, freshly prepared each day, produced a significantly greater improvement in ponderal growth than a standard ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF), an effect that is associated with repair of the disrupted gut microbial community development that occurs in children with MAM. To test the generalizability of these results in acutely malnourished children at…