Validation of rapid (colour-based) prescreening techniques for analysis of fruit provitamin a contents in banana (Musa spp.).
Abstract
Banana and plantain (Musa spp.) fruits have been shown to be a potentially rich source of provitamin A carotenoids (pVACs) and can thus play a key role in reducing vitamin A deficiency in developing countries. Recently, the screening of over 170 Musa genotypes indicated that there is substantial genetic diversity in the pVACs contents of banana and plantain fruit pulp. Additional screening of the more than 6000 accessions maintained in over 60 field genebanks worldwide is highly desirable, but detailed pVACs analysis by spectrophotometry and reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) is both time consuming and expensive, due to the need for specialised equipment and technical expertise. The aim of this work was to validate alternative colour-based prescreening techniques for measuring fruit pVACs contents. The prescreening techniques used showed that pulps with white-cream coloration contained low levels of carotenoids, while those with more orange colour had levels of carotenoids ranging from low to high. The regression models tested indicated a positive correlation between Musa pulp colour and carotenoids content (significant at P
Citation
Proceedings of the International ISHS-ProMusa Symposium on Global Perspectives on Asian Challenges. Acta Horticulturae (2011) 897: 161-168