Profile and bioavailability of provitamin A on biofortified cassava varieties

Abstract

The vitamin A deficiency is a serious global public health problem that has consequences for the survival and health that could be prevented with a diet that met the daily recommended intake. Recent studies have documented a high prevalence in the Brazilian Southeast, as the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The basis of the diet (rice, beans, wheat, cassava, maize) do not have adequate amounts of provitamin A to satisfy daily needs. In this context arises biofortification as a technology with potential to reduce vitamin A deficiency in an efficient manner and complement the strathegies already adopted. Biofortified crops are more accessible to low-income population, as well as to rural and other risk groups. In addition to promoting long-term results when biofortified foods are widely cultivated. For getting the desired effects is necessary to consider the concentration of provitamin A in biofortified food, the factors of bioavailability and bioconversion of nutrients, beyond the effects of used processing. Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is one of the most important crops for human consumption in the tropics, especially for low-income populations. Among the crops under study for improvement with provitamin A cassava is the most purchased by Brazilian families. The breeding program of the Campinas Agronomic Institute have sought to increase the levels of ²-carotene in cassava production in the State of São Paulo. They launched in 2011 a biofortified variety IAC-06-01, and selected other clones with the potential for commercialization, but studies are still lacking on the efficiency of nutrient in these varieties. Thus this project wants to contribute to the biofortification programs, as well as producing knowledge about the factors that influence the bioavailability of carotenoids and the efficiency of biofortified cassava to reduction of vitamin A deficiency. The aim of this project is to evaluate the profile and the bioavailability of carotenoids in biofortified cassava varieties with pro-vitamin A.