Effects of Processing, Cooking, and Storage on β-carotene Retention and Bioaccessibility in Biofortified Cassava (Manihot esculenta)
Michael La Frano *
Nutrition Department, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA and Western Human Nutrition Research Center, USDA, Davis, CA, USA.
Chenghao Zhu
Food Science and Technology Department, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
Betty Burri
Nutrition Department, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA and Western Human Nutrition Research Center, USDA, Davis, CA, USA.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Objectives: Biofortification of cassava with β-carotene is currently being tested in African populations where cassava is a staple food and vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem. The objective of the present study was to measure the impact of traditional African processing and cooking methods on β-carotene concentration and bioaccessibility of cassava-based foods in order to help direct plant breeding efforts and estimate the potential impact of biofortified cassava on vitamin A status.
Methods: Biofortified cassava was processed and cooked to prepare the following traditional dishes: gari, eba, fermented and non-fermented fufu, and boiled cassava. β-carotene concentrations were measured using HPLC and bioaccessibility was tested using simulated in vitro digestion.
Results: Eba, non-fermented fufu, and gari retained the most β-carotene (43.6, 42.2, and 41.0%, respectively) and boiled cassava and fermented fufu retained the least (24.9, and 21.7%, respectively). Gari and boiled cassava bioaccessibility was 17- and 12-fold higher than raw cassava, respectively (P < 0.001). Increases in bioaccessible β-carotene concentrations in eba, and fufu products were not significant. After three days of storage at room temperature, fermented flour and gari preparations lost >62% β-carotene, while nonfermented flour was more stable.
Conclusions: These results suggest that biofortified cassava prepared as gari or boiled might provide useful amounts of β-carotene to alleviate vitamin A deficiency, if storage conditions are optimized.