Red palm oil-supplemented and biofortified cassava gari increase the carotenoid and retinyl palmitate concentrations of triacylglycerol-rich plasma in women.

ABSTRACT: Boiled biofortified cassava containing ?-carotene can increase retinyl palmitate in triacylglycerol-rich plasma. Thus, it might alleviate vitamin A deficiency. Cassava requires extensive preparation to decrease its level of cyanogenic glucosides, which can be fatal. Garification is a popular method of preparing cassava that removes cyanogen glucosides. Our objective was to compare the effectiveness of biofortified gari to gari prepared with red palm oil. The study was a randomized crossover trial in 8 American women. Three gari preparations separated by 2-week washout periods were consumed. Treatments (containing 200-225.9 g gari) were as follows: biofortified gari (containing 1 mg ?-carotene), red palm oil-fortified gari (1 mg ?-carotene), and unfortified gari with a 0.3-mg retinyl palmitate reference dose. Blood was collected 6 times from -0.5 to 9.5 hours after ingestion. Triacylglycerol-rich plasma was separated by ultracentrifugation and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection. Area under the curve for ?-carotene, ?-carotene, and retinyl palmitate increased after the fortified meals were fed (P < .05), although the retinyl palmitate increase induced by the red palm oil treatment was greater than that induced by the biofortified treatment (P < .05). Vitamin A conversion was 2.4 ± 0.3 and 4.2 ± 1.5 ?g pro-vitamin A carotenoid/1 ?g retinol (means ± SEM) for red palm oil and biofortified gari, respectively. These results show that both treatments increased ?-carotene, ?-carotene, and retinyl palmitate in triacylglycerol-rich plasma concentrations in healthy well-nourished adult women, supporting our hypothesis that both interventions could support efforts to alleviate vitamin A deficiency.

SUBMITTER: Zhu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4997810 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature