Effects of husk and harvest time on carotenoid content and acceptability of roasted fresh cobs of orange maize hybrids.

Oladeji E Alamu,Abebe Menkir,Bussie Maziya-Dixon,Olorunfemi Olaofe

doi:10.1002/fsn3.179

Oladeji E Alamu, Abebe Menkir + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.179

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Abstract

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a major public health problem in many developing countries. Orange maize is preferred as green maize and consumed roasted on the cob, especially in Nigeria. This research work was to evaluate the effects of harvest time and husk on the carotenoid contents and sensory properties of roasted orange maize hybrids. The results showed that husk (roasting forms) and harvesting time had significant effects (P ≤ 0.001) on the carotenoids and the sensory properties. There was general increase in β-carotene and provitamin A (PVA) values as the harvesting time increases. The β-carotene and PVA values for roasted orange maize hybrids with husk were higher than those for roasted without husk. Hybrid 5 had the highest β-carotene concentration and PVA value at 27 days after pollination (DAP) and 34DAP when unprocessed and roasted without husk. This information can help researchers in choosing proper roasting methods to increase the retention of high levels of β-carotene and PVA in orange maize that can be delivered to consumers through nutrition education.

Highlights

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a major public health problem in many developing countries and is the most common cause of preventable blindness with estimated 250,000–500,000 vitamin A-deficient children going blind yearly (West 2003)
Hybrid 9 husk and hybrid 9 maturity interactions were not significant for almost all provitamin A carotenoids whereas the husk x maturity and hybrid 9 husk 9 maturity interactions were significant for pVACs, including provitamin A activity (PVA)
The results of this study revealed that replication, environment, and hybrid interaction was found to represent a small fraction of the total variation in the concentrations of total b-carotene and PVA when compared with variation among husk and maturity

Summary

Introduction

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a major public health problem in many developing countries and is the most common cause of preventable blindness with estimated 250,000–500,000 vitamin A-deficient children going blind yearly (West 2003). In these countries, it is estimated that about two-thirds of child mortality can be prevented through public health interventions (Jones et al 2003). Maize is the most important cereal grain, accounting for 74% of the aggregate output (FAOSTAT 2011) It ranks third in the world production of food grains surpassed only by rice and wheat (FAOSTAT 2011). The effectiveness of a biofortificaton strategy depends on how traditional processing and food preparations affect the nutritional content in products commonly consumed by the disadvantaged sector of the society

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