Original Research Article
Carotenoid stability during storage of yellow gari made from biofortified cassava or with palm oil

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2015.06.002Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Trans-β-carotene degradation was modelled during storage of BG and RPG.

  • Trans- and 9-cis-β-carotene degradation fitted well the Arrhenius and Eyring models.

  • Initial trans-β-carotene was twice as high in the BG compared to RPG.

  • Activation energy was lower (∼20%) with BG compared to RPG.

  • Based on carotenoid stability, shelf life of BG was much shorter than RPG.

Abstract

The carotenoid composition of gari made from biofortified cassava (BG) was compared to that of existing gari of similar appearance but made from white cassava with added red palm oil (RPG). Storage of both yellow gari products was modelled at ambient temperatures typical of tropical areas (19–40 °C) over a 3-month-period at constant relative humidity. Carotenoid content and hence vitamin A activity of the gari products decreased markedly with time and temperature. Trans-β-carotene degradation fitted well the kinetics predicted by the Arrhenius model, in particular for BG. Activation energies for trans-β-carotene were 60.4 and 81.0 kJ mol−1 for BG and RPG respectively (R2 = 0.998 and 0.997, respectively); hence the minimum energy to cause degradation of trans-β-carotene in gari was lower with BG. Rates of degradation of 9-cis-β-carotene in gari were of the same order as with trans-β-carotene. Although the initial content of trans-β-carotene was twice as high in the BG compared to RPG, trans-β-carotene in BG degraded much faster. Results showed that the average shelf life at ambient temperature for BG was significantly shorter than for RPG and therefore carotenoids in BG were less stable than in RPG.

Abbreviations

BG
gari from biofortified yellow cassava
RPG
gari from white cassava with added palm oil
FW
fresh weight basis
DW
dry weight basis
R
retention
RAE
Retinol Activity Equivalent
EAR
estimated average requirement
VAD
vitamin A deficiency
pVACs
provitamin A carotenoids

Keywords

Carotenoid degradation
Biofortified cassava
Gari
Palm oil
Storage
Temperature
Model prediction
Vitamin A deficiency
Nutritional impact
Food composition

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