TITLE:
Color of Corn Grains and Carotenoid Profile of Importance for Human Health
AUTHORS:
Sara de Almeida Rios, Maria Cristina Dias Paes, Wilton Soares Cardoso, Aluízio Borém, Flávia França Teixeira
KEYWORDS:
Carotenes; Zea mays; Vitamin A; Genetic Variability; Biofortification
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.5 No.6,
March
25,
2014
ABSTRACT: The increasing on
the levels of carotenoids in staple foods of broad human consumption is one of
the strategies of food biofortification programs, mainly due to the importance
of these compounds to human health on the prevention of vitamin A deficiency.
Maize is a major staple food due to its high consumption in regions where
problems of Vitamin A deficiency are of great relevance. Maize biofortification
programs have made progress in determining the amounts of carotenoids in grain
of thousands of accesses. This work aimed at studying the influence of the color of the grains in
the profile of carotenoids in four different Brazilian genotypes. The selection
of ears within the same genotype was based on a color scale, considering the
lighter (lightest yellow) in one group and the most colorful (darkest orange)
in another group. Significant interactions (p 0.05)
between the color of the grains and the genotypes for all the variables were
detected in addition to genetic variability for both groups (lightest yellow
and darkest orange). The colored ears of corn showed a high level of total
carotenoids (TC) and fractions in RS 535 and RS 445, and the colorful ears of
genotype RS 535 showed 300% more α + β carotenes (μg·g-1) in relation to lighter of this
same material. The results of this study showed the influence of genotype on
the grain color and content of carotenoids, indicating that breeders have the
flexibility to make selection of some genotypes based on grain color, reducing
cost and time compared to laboratory methods used for the screening of genetic
materials.