Scientists develop new sweet potato to combat vitamin A deficiency

The lack of vitamin A in the body can lead to health conditions such as blindness, weakening of the immune system, in addition to facilitating the emergence of bacterial infections. With the aim of overcoming the problem, researchers from the São Paulo State University (Unesp) have developed a new sweet potato.

The product, of the orange pulp type, has up to 50% more beta-carotene, one of the main sources of vitamin A, compared to vegetables available on the market.

The new sweet potato had its registration filed with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) and could be another source of income for small producers and a low-cost alternative for supplementing groups and families in a situation of socioeconomic vulnerability, as quilombola communities, according to the researchers.

According to the scientists, the sweet potato plants have a productive potential about three times greater than the Brazilian average, allowing more food to be produced in the same harvest period.

“I can point out three major differentials of this new sweet potato. The first is its production capacity higher than the national average, reaching around 45 tons per hectare, compared to approximately 15 tons of current products. The second is its nutritional power, due to the higher amount of beta-carotene in relation to the American orange-fleshed sweet potato, which was imported into Brazil and is our reference”, says Professor Pablo Forlan Vargas, from the Faculty of Sciences Vale do Ribeira, in Registro (SP), in a statement.

“Finally, the third highlight is that it has a format that is more pleasing to the market. It is longer, which facilitates its peeling and preparation as a whole, in addition to being firmer and drier, which ends up being a consumer preference”, adds the researcher, who is mainly responsible for the innovation.

Public acceptance of the new type of sweet potato was tested based on “blind tastings” at Unesp’s Jaboticabal (SP) campus. Students, employees, teachers and visitors had the opportunity to try out the new product.

“We cook the sweet potatoes and offer some samples for the participants to taste. At the end of the evaluation, the marks obtained by the new vegetable in terms of flavor, texture and general appearance were all better than those received by conventional sweet potatoes. Most of the participants responded to a questionnaire saying they would buy the product”, says Vargas.

Another sweet potato introduction activity was carried out at Quilombo Peropava, in Registro. On that occasion, the researchers showed local residents the characteristics of the product, its nutritional power, as well as its benefits to human health. Different foods were prepared with the use of sweet potatoes for the community to enjoy, such as breads, pies, juice, sequilos, pudding, in addition to pure boiled sweet potatoes.

“Vale do Ribeira has several quilombola communities, whose diet is based on sweet potatoes. Our idea of ​​presenting the product to them was because we would like to show it to those who actually consume it frequently and in large quantities, so that we would have a more in-depth evaluation. The feedback was very positive, they said it wasn’t too sweet, which is good for making bread, for example, in addition to praising its firmer consistency”, says Vargas.

In all, scientists have developed three varieties of the new sweet potato. In recognition of the work of women engaged in the cause of food security, the researchers baptized the products with the following names: Unesp Maria Isabel, in allusion to Maria Isabel Vaz de Andrade, who is a researcher from Mozambique and a reference in the area of ​​potato genetic improvement – biofortified sweet; Unesp Maria Rita, in homage to Maria Rita Marques de Oliveira, professor at the Botucatu Institute of Biosciences and coordinator of Unesp’s food safety network; and Unesp Maria Eduarda, in reference to Maria Eduarda Facioli Otoboni, former student of Pablo and current doctoral student at the University, on the campus of Ilha Solteira.

The new varieties were obtained from natural crosses carried out in the field between pre-selected plants, which were provided by the International Potato Center in Mozambique. The innovation did not involve any artificial laboratory procedure aimed at genetically improving the plants. After crossings, around five thousand seeds were generated and sown for evaluation. To arrive at the three varieties, around a thousand daughter plants underwent more in-depth studies, with the three Marias being chosen as the ones with the best performances.

lack of vitamin A

Adequate vitamin A supplementation in children aged 6 to 59 months reduces the overall risk of death by 24%, mortality from diarrhea by 28%, and all-cause mortality in children living with HIV by 45% , point out studies.

In this scenario, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the administration of vitamin A supplements to prevent, mainly, xerophthalmia and nutritional blindness in children in this age group.

Currently, around four and a half million children under the age of five require supplementation of the compound in Brazil, according to an official letter issued by the Ministry of Health in March of this year in which it guides the state health departments on the number of necessary supplement doses. to be applied.

(Published by Lucas Rocha, with information from Henrique Fontes, from Unesp’s Communication Office)