title: Influence of Cooking Conditions on Carotenoid Content and Stability in Porridges Prepared from High-Carotenoid Maize.
abstract: Maize is a staple food crop in many developing countries, hence becoming an attractive target for biofortification programs toward populations at risk of micronutrient deficiencies. A South African white endosperm maize inbred line was engineered with a carotenogenic mini-pathway to generate high-carotenoid maize, which accumulates β-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin. As maize porridge is a traditional meal for poor populations in sub-Saharan African countries, high-carotenoid maize was used as raw material to prepare different maize meals. The objective of this work was to assess the impact of popular home-cooking techniques and different cooking parameters (temperature, time and pH) on the final carotenoid content in the cooked product, using a spectrophotometric technique based on the mean absorption of carotenoids at 450 nm. Carotenoid levels were not only preserved, but also enhanced in high-carotenoid maize porridges. The carotenoid content was increased when temperatures ≤95 °C were combined with short cooking times (10-60 min). The most optimum thermal treatment was 75 °C/10 min. When treated under those conditions at pH 5, high-carotenoid maize porridges doubled the initial carotenoid content up to 88 μg/g dry weight. Regarding to cooking techniques, the highest carotenoid content was found when unfermented thin porridges were prepared (51 μg/g dry weight of high-carotenoid maize porridge). We conclude that high-carotenoid maize may contribute to enhance the dietary status of rural populations who depend on maize as a staple food.
authors.affiliation: Food Technology Department, University of Lleida, UTPV-XaRTA, Agrotecnio Center, Av. Rovira Roure 191, 25198, Lleida, Spain.
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Díaz-Gómez
authors.affiliation: Food Technology Department, University of Lleida, UTPV-XaRTA, Agrotecnio Center, Av. Rovira Roure 191, 25198, Lleida, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio Javier
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Plant and Forestry Science Department, University of Lleida - Agrotecnio Center, Av. Rovira Roure 191, 25198, Lleida, Spain.
authors.forename: Changfu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Food Technology Department, University of Lleida, UTPV-XaRTA, Agrotecnio Center, Av. Rovira Roure 191, 25198, Lleida, Spain.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Martín-Belloso
authors.affiliation: Food Technology Department, University of Lleida, UTPV-XaRTA, Agrotecnio Center, Av. Rovira Roure 191, 25198, Lleida, Spain. rsoliva@tecal.udl.cat.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4573-4801
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Soliva-Fortuny
mesh_terms: D002338:Carotenoids / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D014975:Lutein / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D003313:Zea mays / Q000737:chemistry*; D065146:Zeaxanthins / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D065146:Zeaxanthins; D019207:beta Carotene; D002338:Carotenoids; D014975:Lutein
keywords: Biofortification; Carotenoids; Fermentation; Metabolic engineering; Processing