Juan Sanchez Salcedo Jr. (September 23, 1904 – October 25, 1988) was a Filipino physician and scientist who specialized in biochemistry, nutrition and public health. He was

secretary of health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate Minister of Mental Health, ...

from 1950 to 1953 and chairman of the National Science Development Board (now reorganized as the Department of Science and Technology) from 1962 to 1970. He was also one of the original

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

and incorporators of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement. Flavier, Juan M., '' Doctor to the Barrios'', page 6. Following his government service, he became dean of the University of the East Medical College and president of Araneta University. His involvement in nutrition began with the Bataan Experiment, where he led surveys and experiments in

Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula ...

to prove that enriching rice with

thiamine Thiamine, also known as thiamin and vitamin B1, is a vitamin – an Nutrient#Micronutrients, essential micronutrient for humans and animals. It is found in food and commercially synthesized to be a dietary supplement or medication. Phosp ...

and other nutrients such as

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

can cure

beriberi Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The name beriberi was possibly borrowed in the 18th century from the Sinhalese phrase (bæri bæri, “I canno ...

, which was the leading cause of deaths in the Philippines during those times. As the secretary of health, he enacted the mandatory National Rice Enrichment Act 832 for the prevention of beriberi cases, but was met with backlash from rice millers and poor enforcement from authorities.

Education and early career

Juan Salcedo Jr. was born on September 23, 1904 to Juan Salcedo Sr. and Felipa Sanchez. At a young age, he attended Paco Intermediate School and graduated salutatorian. In high school, he attended Manila South High School. In 1929, he graduated at U.P. College of Medicine. From 1929 to 1936, he worked as a physiology instructor at UP. In 1943, during the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, he studied at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. There he met

Robert R. Williams Robert Runnels Williams (February 16, 1886 – October 2, 1965) was an American chemist, known for being the first to chemically fully characterize and then synthesize thiamine (vitamin B1). He first isolated thiamine in 1933, and synthesized ...

, who, in 1935, had synthesized vitamin B1. They created a plan together in 1943 to combat beriberi in the Philippines which was later known as the "Bataan Rice Enrichment Project". This plan, however, cannot be executed until the defeat of Japan in 1945. During his time as a director for field operations of USPHS and founding father of the Philippine Association of Nutrition, Salcedo wanted a state agency dedicated solely for nutrition. In 1948, President

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines from 1946 until his death in 1948. He served briefly as the third and last President of the ...

' administration appointed him as chairperson for the state-created Institute of Nutrition.

Scientific contributions

The Bataan Experiment

In 1946, beriberi was the second leading cause of death in the Philippines, following

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. In 1948, the survey, led by Dr. Juan Salcedo, Jr. and a team including Dr. M. D. Bamba and three other medical officers, aimed to assess beriberi in the Philippines. They surveyed approximately 22% of the population in the experimental zone and 2 out of 5 control municipality in Bataan, examining 1,000 to 2,500 individuals per municipality. Findings revealed that beriberi cases were uniformly distributed across different age and physiological groups, affecting 12.8% of those examined, with mortality highest in infants. Sex did not notably influence results, except for physiological conditions related to pregnancy and lactation. Since October 1948, Salcedo, along with Bamba's team tested their enriched rice for exclusive use by 63,000 people in Bataan. The findings shows a decline of 76 to 94% in the incidence of beriberi in each of 7 municipalities. From 1947 to 1949, feeding experiments in Bataan were conducted by American chemist

and Salcedo. The experiments showed that thiamine-enriched polished white rice significantly decreased beriberi rates among at-risk populations. Salcedo was credited as the developer of a rice variety fortified with thiamine which helped reduce the cases of beriberi in the Philippines and in other countries. In 1949, Salcedo, along with Alfonso Pedroche, Elpedio C. Panganiban and Jose F. De Leon, conducted preliminary field trials in the Philippines involving artificially enriched white rice with 3,500 participants. The results were completely satisfactory. In limited observations, some members of the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) () are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Philippine Army, Army, the Philippine Air Force, Air Force, and the Philippine Navy, Navy (including the P ...

, who were participants for the trials, received beneficial effects on

peripheral neuritis Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, refers to damage or disease affecting the nerves. Damage to nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland function, and/or organ function depending on which nerve fibers are affected. Neuropa ...

Other publications and researches

Here are some of the notable publications and researches by Salcedo:

Medical Services

*Salcedo, J,S.Jr., (1949 Ja - Mr ) ''The role of nurses in the national nutrition program'', Filipino Nurse Volume 18/3 *Salcedo, J,S.Jr., (1949 Mr) ''The medical practitioner and our nutrition problems'', Philippine Medical World Volume 4/3 *Salcedo, J,S.Jr., (1949 Ap ) ''The publlc health approach to our nutrition problems'', Journal of the Philippine Medical Association Volume 25/4

Nutrition

*Salcedo, J,S.Jr., (1943) ''Studies on vitamin A deficiency. I. Dark adaption test in 997 cases'', Abstracts of Scientific Papers Presented before the Conference on Medical Sciences in Commemoration of the Establishment of the Republic of the Philippines *Salcedo, J,S. Jr., et.al., (1944 N) ''The source of the extra liver fat in various types of fatty liver'', Journal of the Biological Chemistry Volume 156/1 *Salcedo, J,S.Jr., (1937 F) ''Studies on the pulse rates and blood pressures of the male Filipino Olympic athletes of 1934'', National Research Council of the Philippine Islands.

Recognition

Public service

By 1950, his publications was cited by numerous scientific papers, reviews and textbooks. This recognition of his works led to his appointment as the Secretary of Health by Philippine President

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Philippine nationality law, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered p ...

from 1950 to 1953. He was appointed Chairman of the National Science Development Board, now the Department of Science and Technology, from 1962 to 1965 by President

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the 9th President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the 5th Vice President of the Philippines, V ...

, and reappointed under President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. from 1966 to 1970.

Awards and other recognitions

He was given the highest award to a Filipino citizen namely the 1966 Republic Cultural Heritage Award in Science and the 1969 Presidential Pro Patria Award. In 1978, he was named a National Scientist. He was also named “Scientist Par Excellence and Scholar Meritissimus” by the International Academy of Leadership in 1969. He received the William J. Gies Fellow in Biochemistry at Columbia University, and was President of the 5th

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

Assembly. He also served as First Vice-Chairman at the

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

Conference on Children and Youth in National Planning and Development.

As Health Secretary

In 1951, Salcedo extended rice enrichment to North Luzon, increasing rice prices slightly due to enrichment costs. Local ordinances banning unenriched rice were poorly enforced. As health secretary in 1952, Salcedo enacted National Rice Enrichment Act 832, making enrichment mandatory. This faced resistance from rice millers due to the additional cost and potential for increased tax scrutiny, as many small millers evaded taxes. Provincial millers formed a union to oppose the Act.

Lack of support from the government

In writing his biography, Salcedo recalls that President

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh President of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash, aircraft disast ...

had promised support for rice enrichment but ultimately did not deliver. Magsaysay even sought to repeal the Rice Enrichment Act in 1955. Salcedo was disappointed by the law's lack of implementation. Before Magsaysay's death in March 1957, he planned a national conference to address issues with the rice enrichment program. His successor,

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (; November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971), often referred to by his initials CPG, was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the ...

, established a committee to study the act's implementation, but its work was delayed and eventually stalled due to opposition and lobbying from influential rice millers.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salcedo, Juan Jr. Filipino educators 1904 births 1988 deaths People from Pasay National Scientists of the Philippines Secretaries of health of the Philippines Burials at the Libingan ng mga Bayani Quirino administration cabinet members Filipino public health doctors Filipino nutritionists 20th-century Filipino medical doctors