Nutritional Effects of Supplementing Nonagenarians With a Supplement Based on a Fruit From the Cerrado: Buriti

The population aged over 90 is growing worldwide, and the search for strategies to promote a better quality of life for the older persons is a challenge for science. Advancing age is associated with several physiological changes leading to different diseases, among which malnutrition and sarcopenia stand out. Malnutrition prevention and treatment are based on functional food/nutritional interventions, such as oral supplement use. However, studies evaluating the effectiveness of these supplements in nonagenarians are still scarce in the literature. The present study aimed to evaluate the use of a buriti fruit (Mauritia flexuosa) supplement in persons 90 years and older. The study included 40 individuals who were randomized into two groups. The group Supplement Test (ST) used a Buriti-based supplement with full vitamins and minerals; the control group used a capsule containing the same composition of vitamins and minerals as the test supplement, which was called Vitamin Mix (VM). The intervention lasted 12 weeks. The following analyses were carried out before and after this period: Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire, handgrip strength (HGS), biochemical tests, and anthropometric measurements. The main results showed that the Buriti supplement led to a significant increase in body weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), handgrip strength, and globulins, when compared to the group that used the vitamin mix. Therefore, it can be concluded that the buriti supplement promotes an improvement in body composition, increased strength, and globulins in nonagenarians, and may be a viable and effective strategy for malnutrition treatment.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Malnutrition in the Elderly
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: Nutricer Energia Zero-lactose; Dietary supplement: Multivitamin Mix

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Brazil
  • Minas Gerais
    • Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
      • State University of Minas Gerais

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Participants aged 90 or over were selected from the database of the Reference Center for Elderly Health Care in Montes Claros, MG .

Exclusion Criteria:

• Exclusion criteria included severe obesity, decompensated chronic diseases, or inability/refusal to consent.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Supplement Group; Participants received the supplement test (Nutricer Energia Zero-lactose) daily for 3 months	Dietary supplement: Nutricer Energia Zero-lactose; Daily administration of two tablespoons of solubilized in whole milk once a day for 3 months.; Other Names: Supplement Group
Active Comparator: Control Group (Multivitamin Mix); Participants received a multivitamin mix daily for 3 months	Dietary supplement: Multivitamin Mix; Daily administration of one multivitamin capsule for 3 months.; Other Names: Control Group (Multivitamin Mix)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Body Weight	Body weight (kg) was measured using a calibrated digital scale to evaluate changes after supplementation.	Baseline and after 12 weeks of supplementation
Change in Muscle Strength	Muscle strength was assessed using a handgrip dynamometer to evaluate functional improvement following 12 weeks of supplementation.	Baseline and after 12 weeks of supplementation.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Body Weight	Body weight (kg) was measured using a calibrated digital scale to assess changes in body mass after supplementation.	Baseline and after 12 weeks of supplementation
Change in Body Mass Index	BMI (kg/m²) was calculated as weight divided by height squared to evaluate body composition changes.	Baseline and after 12 weeks of supplementation.
Change in Serum Globulin Levels	Serum globulin concentration (g/dL) was determined using standard biochemical methods to assess protein metabolism changes.	Baseline and after 12 weeks of supplementation.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Federal University of Minas Gerais
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sérgio H Santos, PhD, State University of Minas Gerais

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 26, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): November 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 4, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 4, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): December 17, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 17, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 4, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: malnutrition; nutritional supplements; Nonagenarians; Cerrado
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Malnutrition; Investigative Techniques; Epidemiologic Research Design; Epidemiologic Methods; Research Design; Methods; Control Groups
• Other Study ID Numbers: 6.790.431

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No