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Comparison of Content and In vitro Bioaccessibility of Provitamin A Carotenoids in Home Cooked and Commercially Processed Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (Ipomea batatas Lam)

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Abstract

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) remains a public health problem in some regions of Brazil. Increased use of orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) as a source of pro-vitamin A represents a potential strategy for prevention of VAD. We compared the pro-vitamin A content, vitamin A equivalency and bioaccessibility of β-carotene (βC) of two varieties of home cooked OFSP and two commercial sources of processed OFSP. Pro-vitamin A carotenoid content in home cooked, Beauregard variety of OFSP exceeded that in Amelia variety and commercial products for babies. All-trans-βC was the most abundant carotenoid in raw, cooked and commercial OFSP. Boiling and frying OFSP generally decreased total βC. A serving of 100 g FW Beauregard variety of cooked OFSP contained greater than 100 % of the estimated average requirement (EAR) for children and women, and up to 92 % EAR for lactating women. Although the efficiency of micellarization of all-trans-βC during simulated digestion of OFSP was relatively low (4–8 %) and significantly less than for cis-isomers, the quantities of trans-βC incorporated into micelles from boiled Beauregard and fried Amelia varieties exceeded that in micelles generated by digesting commercial OFSP. The bioaccessibility of pro-vitamin A carotenoids in the micelle fraction of digested OFSP was confirmed with differentiated cultures of Caco-2 human intestinal cells. Continued development of OFSP such as the Amelia and Beauregard varieties that are rich in trans-βC and dissemination of best practices for home cooking are encouraged to increase consumption of this food to decrease the risk of vitamin A deficiency in Brazil.

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Abbreviations

AC:

Alfa-carotene

βC:

Beta-carotene

EAR:

Estimated average requirement

OFSP:

Orange-fleshed sweet potato

VAD:

Vitamin A deficiency

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank HarvestPlus and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center for financial support of experiments and FAPESP for defraying travel related expenses of PB. We also thank Marilia Nutti for providing sweet potato roots from EMBRAPA.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Food Science and Technology, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil

    Paulo Berni & Solange G. Canniatti-Brazaca

  2. Human Nutrition Program, Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, 325 Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Chureeporn Chitchumroonchokchai & Mark L. Failla

  3. Harvest Plus, International Food Policy Research Institute, 2033 K Street NW, Washington, DC, 20006, USA

    Fabiana F. De Moura

Authors
  1. Paulo Berni
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  2. Chureeporn Chitchumroonchokchai
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  3. Solange G. Canniatti-Brazaca
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  4. Fabiana F. De Moura
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  5. Mark L. Failla
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Correspondence to Mark L. Failla.

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Berni, P., Chitchumroonchokchai, C., Canniatti-Brazaca, S.G. et al. Comparison of Content and In vitro Bioaccessibility of Provitamin A Carotenoids in Home Cooked and Commercially Processed Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (Ipomea batatas Lam). Plant Foods Hum Nutr 70, 1–8 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-014-0458-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-014-0458-1

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