EVALUATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE AND CONSUMPTION OF FOOD SUPPLEMENTS IN SIX (06) COMMUNES OF THE DISTRICT OF ABIDJAN: THE CASE OF SPIRULINA (Arthrospira platensis) AND MORINGA (Moringa oleifera)

Food supplements are playing an increasingly important role in ourdiet. Moringa and Spirulina are twofoodsupplementsproduced and marketed in the Ivory Coast. However, verylittle data exists on the level of consumption of thesefoodsupplements. The objective of thisstudywas to assess the level of knowledge and consumption of thesetwoproducts in six communes of the Abidjan district. To achievethis, a questionnaire wasadministered to 446 households. The studyrevealedthat 100% of the householdssurveyedknew about Moringa, while 43.5% knew about Spirulina.71.75%ofthe householdssurveyedhadalreadyconsumedtheseproducts. For 90.4% of the householdssurveyed, theseproducts are consumed in powderform. And the reasons for consumptionwere due in 72.84% of cases to healthproblems. However, 45.40% of household respondentssaidtheyhadexperienceddiscomfort as a result of consuming Moringa. This studyreveals the effectiveness of the dietary use of Moringa and/or Spirulina in the householdssurveyed. However, the mention of undesirableeffectsreportedshouldbe the subject of furtherstudy on the healthquality of thesesupplements, which are becomingincreasinglypopular.