Retention of Carotenoids in Biofortified Maize Flour and β‑Cryptoxanthin-Enhanced Eggs after Household Cooking
Boiling whole-grain maize into porridge resulted in the highest retention of all cooking and sifting methods
Abstract
Biofortification of crops to enhance provitamin A carotenoids is a strategy to increase the intake where vitamin A deficiency presents a widespread problem. Heat, light, and oxygen cause isomerization and oxidation of carotenoids, reducing provitamin A activity. Understanding provitamin A retention is important for assessing efficacy of biofortified foods. Retention of carotenoids in high-xanthophyll and high-β-carotene maize was assessed after a longterm storage at three temperatures. Carotenoid retention in high-β-cryptoxanthin maize was determined in muffins, non-nixtamalized tortillas, porridge, and fried puffs made from whole-grain and sifted flour. Retention in eggs from hens fed high-β-cryptoxanthin maize was assessed after frying, scrambling, boiling, and microwaving. Loss during storage in maize was accelerated with increasing temperature and affected by genotype. Boiling whole-grain maize into porridge resulted in the highest retention of all cooking and sifting methods (112%). Deep-fried maize and scrambled eggs had the lowest carotenoid retention rates of 67−78 and 84−86%, respectively.
This work is an output of the HarvestPlus Programme. The Department for International Development is one of the main donors for HarvestPlus.
Citation
Sowa, Margaret, Jiaoying Yu, Natalia Palacios-Rojas, Shellen R. Goltz, Julie A. Howe, Christopher R. Davis, Torbert Rocheford, and Sherry A. Tanumihardjo. 2017. Retention of carotenoids in biofortified maize flour and β‑cryptoxanthin-enhanced eggs after household cooking. ACS Omega 2 (10): 7320-7328. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.7b01202.