Abstract
Abstract It is estimated that the global number of people affected by micronutrient deficiency, known worldwide as hidden hunger, is over two billion and also considered a public health problem. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate biofortified cassava cultivars in relation to their physical-chemical composition, total carotenoids and to verify their sensory acceptance by schoolchildren. The study was conducted in Santa Maria, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil, with four cassava cultivars, two biofortified with yellow pulp (BRS 399 and BRS 396); two non-biofortified varieties: one with yellow pulp (“Gema de ovo”) and another with white pulp (“Vassourinha”). After cooking the roots, the nutritional composition (moisture, protein, lipid, ash, and total starch), the total carotenoid content, and the sensory acceptance of the roots by the children at school, in the countryside of Julio de Castilhos and Dilermando de Aguiar, was determined. The contents of moisture, protein, lipids, ash, and starch showed significant variations between the cultivars analyzed. The highest levels of total carotenoids were found in biofortified cultivars (12.85 µg g-1). In the non-biofortified cultivars, “Gema de ovo” and “Vassourinha”, the levels were 12.01 µg g-1 and 3.30 µg g-1, respectively. Sensory acceptance was 78.7%, demonstrating the potential for the insertion of biofortified roots in school meals.
Highlights
Micronutrient deficiency affects one in four people worldwide, being categorized as a public health problem, known as “hidden hunger”
Biofortification is a sustainable, low-cost, and highly efficient process that consists of conventional breeding of plants that are selected until cultivars with higher levels of iron, zinc, and pro-vitamin A are obtained (Carvalho & Nutti, 2012)
Each of them was separated into Marketable Roots (MR), which are those with lengths greater than 10 cm and diameter greater than 2 cm (Schons et al, 2009)
Summary
Micronutrient deficiency affects one in four people worldwide, being categorized as a public health problem, known as “hidden hunger”. The solution to minimizing these micronutrient deficiencies is the consumption of a balanced diet, appropriate to the age, including sufficient quantities of plant and animal nutrients. Biofortification is a sustainable, low-cost, and highly efficient process that consists of conventional breeding of plants that are selected until cultivars with higher levels of iron, zinc, and pro-vitamin A are obtained (Carvalho & Nutti, 2012). These factors mean that biofortification can be widely used in countries with a scarcity of financial and health resources (Ávila et al, 2014). The consumption of biofortified foods can minimize dietary deficiencies, increasing the daily adequacy of micronutrient intake (Bouis & Saltzman, 2017)
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