Abstract
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is the world’s commonest cause of childhood blindness. More than half of these cases occur in developing countries. Animal sourced foods though good sources of vitamin A are too expensive for poor rural people. Crops biofortified with provitamin A offer a convenient and accessible source of vitamin A. The other micro-nutrient programs of fortification and supplementation require more expensive inputs. Biofortification programs have developed crops that are rich in provitamin A. These crops include: maize, golden rice, cassava and orange fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). With exception of golden rice, the rest of the biofortified crops have received considerable acceptance among the communities. Both animal and human studies have shown that provitamin A from biofortified crops is highly bioavailable and have capacity to improve vitamin A status. After several years of research and promotion, it is time to fully commercialize provitamin A crops by encouraging farmers to start their large scale production and consumption.
Highlights
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is the world’s commonest cause of childhood blindness
Various biofortified crops with targeted levels of micronutrients have been produced. Another key question has been; to what extent are the provitamin A in biofortfied crops bioavailable? Here we examine the progress achieved in the bioavailability of provitamin A carotenoids in various provitamin A crops
Provitamin A crops have so far proved to be an effective tool in turning the tide against the scourge of vitamin A deficiency
Summary
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is the world’s commonest cause of childhood blindness. It is estimated that 228 million children are affected sub-clinically and 500,000 children become partially or totally blind every year as a result of VAD [1]. Animal sourced foods though good sources of vitamin A are too expensive for poor communities to afford [3] This leaves foods of plant origin as an important source of provitamin A in developing countries. Biofortification has in particular been encouraged because it has proved to be highly effective in enhancing the provitamin A potential of crops [6,7]. It is considered a new public health approach to control. Vitamin A, iron, and zinc deficiencies in poor countries This can be done either through conventional selective breeding, or through genetic engineering. This paper intends to evaluate the extent of acceptability, bioavailability and bioefficacy of provitamin A and whether it is time to move on
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