Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime, Kent, United Kingdom.
National Root Crop Research Institute, Umudike, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria.
PLoS One. 2018 Mar 21;13(3):e0194402. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194402. eCollection 2018.
Gari, a fermented and dried semolina made from cassava, is one of the most common foods in West Africa. Recently introduced biofortified yellow cassava containing provitamin A carotenoids could help tackle vitamin A deficiency prevalent in those areas. However there are concerns because of the low retention of carotenoids during gari processing compared to other processes (e.g. boiling). The aim of the study was to assess the levels of true retention in trans-β-carotene during gari processing and investigate the causes of low retention. Influence of processing step, processor (3 commercial processors) and variety (TMS 01/1371; 01/1368 and 01/1412) were assessed. It was shown that low true retention (46% on average) during gari processing may be explained by not only chemical losses (i.e. due to roasting temperature) but also by physical losses (i.e. due to leaching of carotenoids in discarded liquids): true retention in the liquid lost from grating negatively correlated with true retention retained in the mash (R = -0.914). Moreover, true retention followed the same pattern as lost water at the different processing steps (i.e. for the commercial processors). Variety had a significant influence on true retention, carotenoid content, and trans-cis isomerisation but the processor type had little effect. It is the first time that the importance of physical carotenoid losses was demonstrated during processing of biofortified crops.
木薯干是一种由木薯制成的发酵和干燥的粗粒粉，是西非最常见的食物之一。最近引入的富含维生素 A 前体类胡萝卜素的生物强化黄木薯可以帮助解决这些地区普遍存在的维生素 A 缺乏问题。然而，人们担心在加工木薯干时，类胡萝卜素的保留率比其他加工过程（如煮沸）低。本研究旨在评估在木薯干加工过程中转- 胡萝卜素的真实保留率，并探讨低保留率的原因。评估了加工步骤、加工商（3 个商业加工商）和品种（TMS 01/1371；01/1368 和 01/1412）的影响。结果表明，木薯干加工过程中真实保留率低（平均 46%）可能不仅是由于化学损失（即由于烘烤温度），还由于物理损失（即由于类胡萝卜素在丢弃的液体中浸出）：从磨碎过程中损失的液体中的真实保留率与糊状物中的真实保留率呈负相关（R = -0.914）。此外，真实保留率与不同加工步骤中损失的水分遵循相同的模式（即对于商业加工商）。品种对真实保留率、类胡萝卜素含量和反式-顺式异构化有显著影响，但加工商类型影响较小。这是首次在生物强化作物加工过程中证明物理类胡萝卜素损失的重要性。
