Carotenoids retention in biofortified yellow cassava processed with traditional African methods

Biofortified yellow cassava is being cultivated in countries with high cassava consumption to improve its population's vitamin A status. The carotenoid retention in biofortified cassava when processed as boiled, fufu, and chikwangue was evaluated in this study. Commercial biofortified varieties Kindisa and Vuvu and the experimental genotypes MVZ2011B/360 and MVZ2012/044 were used. Fresh cassava roots were processed as boiled, fufu, and chikwangue. Provitamin A carotenoids (pVACs) content of fresh and processed cassava was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, and total carotenoids was measured by spectrophotometer.

pVACs content of fresh peeled cassava was 1.79-6.65 µg g^-1 on a fresh weight basis, whereas in boiled cassava, fufu, and chikwangue the pVACs content was 1.71-6.91 µg g^-1 , 0.04-0.37 µg g^-1 , and 0.52-1.75 µg g^-1 respectively. True retention of carotenoids after cooking was 93.2-96.8%, 0.8-3.1%, and 4.0-18.1% for boiled cassava, fufu, and chikwangue respectively. Significant total carotenoids loss was observed during storage.

The results indicated that biofortified boiled cassava could be an effective food product to improve pVACs intake in areas where vitamin A deficiency exists, and processing of chikwangue and fufu should be improved before promoting biofortified cassava in vitamin-A-deficient areas with high cassava consumption. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.