Selection and Breeding for High β-Carotene Content (Provitamin A) in Tomato

1947 ◽  
Vol 109 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
George W. Kohler ◽  
Ralph E. Lincoln ◽  
J. W. Porter ◽  
F. P. Zscheile ◽  
Ralph M. Caldwell ◽  
...  
Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beloved Mensah Dzomeku ◽  
Julian P. Wald ◽  
Jens Norbert Wünsche ◽  
Donatus Nohr ◽  
Hans K. Biesalski

Diet diversification and the exploitation of traditional, micronutrient-rich germplasm of staple crops are generally regarded as sustainable and low-cost approaches to increase the micronutrient intake of resource-poor people. Sun’s UV index was collected daily throughout the year. The study assessed the seasonality of provitamin A carotenoids in three plantain cultivars in response to climatic condition. Fruits were harvested at three maturities and freeze-dried before analysis. The results showed that there were high levels of the sun’s UV-B radiations throughout the year with the highest occurring from November to May when the area experienced clear skies with minimal cloud cover. These high levels of the sun’s UV-B index occurred between 9.00 h GMT and 17.00 h GMT. The study also showed that α-carotene content increased with maturity in “Apantu” during the rainy seasons ranging from 95 to 172 μg/100 g of dry pulp. Similar trends were observed during the dry season with a range of 28 to 489 μg/100 g. The α-carotene contents were very high in the periods of high sun’s UV-B radiations compared to the periods of low sun’s UV-B radiations. The α-carotene levels in the giant French plantains showed similar trends. Intermediate French “Oniaba” and False Horn “Apantu” plantain cultivar showed the highest content of β-carotene during the dry season. The high provitamin A carotenoid levels in the cultivars coincided with the high levels of the sun’s UV index.


Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleck Kondwakwenda ◽  
Julia Sibiya ◽  
Rebecca Zengeni ◽  
Cousin Musvosvi ◽  
Samson Tesfay

Provitamin A maize (Zea mays L.) biofortification is an ideal complementary means of combating vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in sub-Saharan Africa where maize consumption is high coupled by high VAD incidences. However, drought remains a major abiotic constraint to maize productivity in this region. Comprehensive drought screening of initial breeding materials before advancing them is important to achieve genetic gain. In this study, 46 provitamin-A inbred lines were screened for drought tolerance in the greenhouse and field under drought and optimum conditions using β-carotene content (BCC), grain yield (GY), and selected morphophysiological and biochemical traits. The results revealed that BCC, morphophysiological and biochemical traits were effective in discriminating among genotypes. Number of ears per plant (EPP), stomatal conductance (Gs), delayed leaf senescence (SEN), leaf rolling (RL), chlorophyll content (CC) and free proline content (PC) proved to be ideal traits to use when indirectly selecting for GY by virtue of having relative efficiency of indirect selection values that are greater than unity and considerable genetic variances under either or both conditions. The findings of this study form the basis of initial germplasm selection when improving provitamin A maize for drought tolerance.


1993 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. H. CHEN ◽  
J. R. CHUANG ◽  
J. H. LIN ◽  
C. P. CHIU

The provitamin A contents of 16 vegetables grown in Taiwan were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode-array detection. The amounts of the major provitamin A compounds, (β-cryptoxanthin, α-carotene, and β-carotene ranged from 0–6.8, 0–27.7, and 0.6–104.9 (μg/g, respectively. The highest β-carotene content was found in basil, followed by onion fragrant, kale, carrot, spinach, water convolvulus, mustard, green onion, garland chrysanthemum, sweet potato, green pepper, yellow com, mustard stem, lettuce, cabbage, and celeriac. Carrot was the only vegetable found to contain α-carotene while com was the vegetable to contain (β-cryptoxanthin.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Duc Thanh ◽  
Nguyen Thi Lan ◽  
Ho Thi Huong

Maize is the third most important food crop after wheat and rice. Maize is used as food for more than a billion people around the world and is used as animal feed, especially, poultry. The concentration of carotenoids, especially, β-carotene in maize grains, is very low. Therefore, the study of increasing the amount of provitamin A carotenoids including β-carotene is important. In maize, different alleles of crtRB1 and LcyE genes have a significant effect on β-carotene content. In this paper, we present the results of the study of allele polymorphism of these two genes related to the provitamin A carotenoid content in some traditional maize accessions collected from several regions in North and Central Highlands of Vietnam. The results showed that there were polymorphisms at the 3’ and 5’ ends of the crtRB1 and LcyE genes. Among 22 maize accessions, the proportion of favorable alleles at the 3’ end of crtRB1 gene was relatively high (5/22 = 22.73%). Similar results were obtained for alleles at 3’ end of the LcyE gene. Especially, there is an accession (Northern white gold maize) that carries favorable alleles at the 3’ ends of both crtRB1 and LcyE genes. While all investigated maize accessions did not carry favorable alleles at the 5’ end of both crtRB1 and LcyE genes. The identification of traditional maize accessions that carry favorable alleles for increasing b-carotene content opens up potential to exploit indigenous genetic resources for genetic research as well as to develop maize varieties with high β- carotene content. 


2004 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Gireesh ◽  
P. P. Nair ◽  
P. R. Sudhakaran

The possibility of using exfoliated colonic epithelial cells for assessing the bioavailability of β-carotene was examined. Analysis of exfoliated colonic epithelial cells showed the presence of β-carotene and vitamin A. The β-carotene content was significantly lower in cells from stool samples of subjects on a β-carotene-poor diet than those receiving a single dose of a β-carotene supplement. Colonic epithelial cells isolated from stool samples collected daily during a wash-out period while the subjects were on a β-carotene-poor diet showed a steady decrease in β-carotene content, reaching the lowest value on day 7. Kinetic analysis showed that a single dose of a β-carotene supplement in the form of spirulina (Spirulina platensis) or agathi (Sesbania grandiflora) after the wash-out period caused an increase in the β-carotene content after a lag period of 5–7 d, but the vitamin A levels during these periods were not significantly affected. Analysis of plasma β-carotene concentration also showed similar changes, which correlated with those of exfoliated colonic cells. A relationship between the β-carotene content of the diet and that of the colonic epithelial cells suggests that analysis of the β-carotene content in exfoliated human colonic epithelial cells is a useful non-invasive method to assess the bioavailability of provitamin A β-carotene.


1992 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 296-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. H. CHEN

The effect of microwave and conventional heating on carotenoid stability in garland chrysanthemum was studied. Each cooking treatment was conducted for 0, 2, 4, 8, and 16 min with two replications. The various carotenoids were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode-array detection. Experimental results suggested that microwave cooking could retain more β-carotene and less lutein than conventional cooking when the output power was 180 W. Epoxy-containing carotenoids were more susceptible to heat loss than other carotenoids. Both cis-lutein and cis-β-carotene contents were higher with the increase of heating time. The increase of cis-β-carotene content also implied that the provitamin A activity would decrease.


2009 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pollyanna Costa Cardoso ◽  
Ceres Mattos Della Lucia ◽  
Paulo César Stringheta ◽  
José Benício Paes Chaves ◽  
Helena Maria Pinheiro-Sant'Ana

This study investigated the α- and β-carotene content and provitamin A value of four leafy vegetables sold at local and street markets in Viçosa, MG, Brazil, in the spring and winter of 2002. Carotenoids were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. α-Carotene was detected in all samples sold during spring, but was only present in a few samples of smooth and curly lettuce and kale in winter. β-Carotene was found in marked quantities in all leafy vegetables analyzed. Duncan's test (α = 5%) showed significantly higher α-carotene content in curly lettuce and vitamin A value in large-leaved watercress in the spring. Mean β-carotene content and vitamin A value were 7544, 8751, 2584, 2792, 8193, and 5338 μg/100 g and 666, 760, 227, 238, 698, and 460 μg RAE/100 g in large-leaved and hydroponic watercress, smooth and curly lettuce, kale and spinach, respectively. All leafy vegetables analyzed represent important sources of provitamin A and supply an important part of the daily requirements of children and adults.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Duc Thanh ◽  
Nguyen Thi Lan ◽  
Ho Thi Huong

Maize is the third most important food crop after wheat and rice. Maize is used as food for more than a billion people around the world and is used as animal feed, especially, poultry. The concentration of carotenoids, especially, β-carotene in maize grains, is very low. Therefore, the study of increasing the amount of provitamin A carotenoids including β-carotene is important. In maize, different alleles of crtRB1 and LcyE genes have a significant effect on β-carotene content. In this paper, we present the results of the study of allele polymorphism of these two genes related to the provitamin A carotenoid content in some traditional maize accessions collected from several regions in North and Central Highlands of Vietnam. The results showed that there were polymorphisms at the 3’ and 5’ ends of the crtRB1 and LcyE genes. Among 22 maize accessions, the proportion of favorable alleles at the 3’ end of crtRB1 gene was relatively high (5/22 = 22.73%). Similar results were obtained for alleles at 3’ end of the LcyE gene. Especially, there is an accession (Northern white gold maize) that carries favorable alleles at the 3’ ends of both crtRB1 and LcyE genes. While all investigated maize accessions did not carry favorable alleles at the 5’ end of both crtRB1 and LcyE genes. The identification of traditional maize accessions that carry favorable alleles for increasing b-carotene content opens up potential to exploit indigenous genetic resources for genetic research as well as to develop maize varieties with high β- carotene content. 


2014 ◽  
Vol 84 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 25-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangwen Tang

Humans need vitamin A and obtain essential vitamin A by conversion of plant foods rich in provitamin A and/or absorption of preformed vitamin A from foods of animal origin. The determination of the vitamin A value of plant foods rich in provitamin A is important but has challenges. The aim of this paper is to review the progress over last 80 years following the discovery on the conversion of β-carotene to vitamin A and the various techniques including stable isotope technologies that have been developed to determine vitamin A values of plant provitamin A (mainly β-carotene). These include applications from using radioactive β-carotene and vitamin A, depletion-repletion with vitamin A and β-carotene, and measuring postprandial chylomicron fractions after feeding a β-carotene rich diet, to using stable isotopes as tracers to follow the absorption and conversion of plant food provitamin A carotenoids (mainly β-carotene) in humans. These approaches have greatly promoted our understanding of the absorption and conversion of β-carotene to vitamin A. Stable isotope labeled plant foods are useful for determining the overall bioavailability of provitamin A carotenoids from specific foods. Locally obtained plant foods can provide vitamin A and prevent deficiency of vitamin A, a remaining worldwide concern.


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