Abstract
Provitamin A-biofortified maize may contribute to alleviating vitamin A deficiency (VAD), in developing countries. However, processing the maize into food products may reduce its provitamin A content. The aims of this study were to determine the composition of provitamin A carotenoids in biofortified maize varieties as well as to assess their retention during processing of popular maize foods consumed in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The non-provitamin A carotenoid, zeaxanthin and the provitamin A carotenoids, β-cryptoxanthin, and trans and cis isomers of β-carotene, and other unidentified trans and cis isomers of β-carotene were detected in varying concentrations in the maize. Milling provitamin A-biofortified maize into mealie meal resulted in a higher retention of carotenoids compared to milling into samp. The highest retention of provitamin A carotenoids was observed in cooked phutu and cooked samp, whilst cooking into thin porridge resulted in the lowest retention of provitamin A carotenoids. In phutu, 96.6 ± 20.3% β-cryptoxanthin and 95.5 ± 13.6% of the β-carotene were retained after cooking. In samp, 91.9 ± 12.0% β-cryptoxanthin and 100.1 ± 8.8% β-carotene; and in thin porridge, 65.8 ± 4.6% β-cryptoxanthin and 74.7 ± 3.0% β-carotene were retained after cooking. This study demonstrates that provitamin A retention in maize is affected by the cooking method (and hence cooked food form) and therefore cooking methods that result in a good retention of provitamin A need to be identified and recommended.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the National Research Foundation (NRF) (South Africa); HarvestPlus challenge program and the University of KwaZulu-Natal Research Office for funding this study. We also thank the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in particular Dr Kevin Pixley and Dr Abebe Menkir respectively, for providing the maize germplasm lines that were used to develop the recombinant inbred maize parents for the experimental hybrids. The seed of white maize check hybrid was provided by Seed Co Ltd (Zimbabwe). We also thank Judy Reddy and her colleagues at the CSIR, Pretoria, for assisting with the analysis of carotenoids in maize samples.
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Pillay, K., Siwela, M., Derera, J. et al. Provitamin A carotenoids in biofortified maize and their retention during processing and preparation of South African maize foods. J Food Sci Technol 51, 634–644 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-011-0559-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-011-0559-x