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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Western Human Nutrition Research Center » Immunity and Disease Prevention Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #300497
Title: Effects of processing, cooking, and storage on ß-carotene retention and bioaccessibility in biofortified cassava (Manihot esculenta)

Author
item LA FRANO, MICHAEL - University Of California
item ZHU, CHENGHAO - University Of California
item Burri, Betty

Submitted to: Experimental Biology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/28/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Biofortification of cassava with beta-carotene is currently being tested in African populations where cassava is a staple food and vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem. Measuring the impact of traditional African processing and cooking on beta-carotene concentration and bioaccessibility of cassava-based foods can help direct plant breeding efforts and estimate the potential impact of biofortified cassava on vitamin A status. Biofortified cassava was processed and cooked to prepare the following traditional dishes: gari, eba, fermented and non-fermented fufu, and boiled cassava. Eba, non-fermented fufu, and gari retained the most ß-carotene (43.6, 42.2, and 41.0%, respectively) while boiling and fermented fufu retained the least (24.9, and 21.7%, respectively). Gari and boiled cassava bioaccessibility was 17-fold and 12-fold higher than raw cassava, respectively (P < 0.001) while increases in bioaccessible beta-carotene concentrations in eba, and fufu products were not significant. Unfortunately, however, after just three days of storage at room temperature, fermented flour and gari preparations lost >62% ß-carotene, while non-fermented flour was more stable. These results suggest that biofortified cassava prepared as gari or boiled might provide useful amounts of ß-carotene to alleviate vitamin A deficiency, if storage conditions are optimized.