Sweet potato B-carotene bioefficacy is enhanced by dietary fat and not reduced by soluble fiber intake in Mongolian gerbils.
Abstract
Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is an important source of β-carotene (βC). Provitamin A bioefficacy from plant foods is influenced by dietary fat and fiber. We fed 3% OFSP powder diets with varying amounts of fat and soluble fiber to vitamin A (VA)-depleted Mongolian gerbils (n = 85) for 3 wk (8 groups, n = 10/group; control, n = 9) following a baseline kill (n = 6). OFSP diets differing in fat (3, 6, and 12%) contained 0.24% soluble fiber. Two additional 3% OFSP diets contained 6% fat and 3 or 9% white-fleshed sweet potato (WFSP) powder with soluble fiber contents of 0.42 and 0.80%, respectively. Control, VA-, and βC-supplemented groups were included. Simulated digestion experiments compared the bioaccessibility of βC from boiled vs. oil stir-fried OFSP. All OFSP diets maintained VA status and 12% fat and WFSP-added diets improved VA status above baseline (P
Citation
Journal of Nutrition (2009) 139 (1) 2018-2023 [doi: 10.3945/jn.108.098947]