Retention levels of vegetable extractable beta-carotene preserved in virgin coconut oil and unadulterated honey

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorMungai, Z. M.
dc.contributor.authorNawiri, M. P.
dc.contributor.authorNyambaka, H. N.
dc.date.accessioned2017-12-06T07:27:50Z
dc.date.available2017-12-06T07:27:50Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.descriptionResearch Articleen_US
dc.description.abstractDark green leafy vegetables such as Amaranthus spp. are known to be good sources of beta-carotene, a pro-vitamin A carotenoid with highly potent antioxidant property. As an antioxidant, beta-carotene scavenges for electron and thus terminates chain reactions, prevents recurrence and formation of unstable oxygen which otherwise initiate a chain reaction leading to such cases as cancer. While beta-carotene is supplied from consuming vegetables to provide vitamin A, it is also given as a supplement in cases of deficiency. However, it is highly degraded in the presence of light, heat, and oxygen posing a challenge to the methods of its preservation. Coconut oil and honey are popularly consumed in many countries facing vitamin A deficiency as good antioxidants and yet their role in preservation is largely unknown. The study reports the retention of beta-carotene extracted from Amaranthus spp. and separately preserved in virgin coconut oil (VCO) and unadulterated honey for up to six months. HPLC and DPPH assay were used to determine beta-carotene and antioxidant activity respectively. Virgin coconut oil and honey had significantly different (p<0.001) antioxidant activities of 65.12±0.70 and 81.51±1.39 % radical scavenging activity respectively that compared well with those of BHT and ascorbic acid. The concentration of beta-carotene preserved in VCO and unadulterated honey degraded by 90%, though the final retention provided higher than the recommended daily allowance of retinol (0.216±0.001 and 0.312±0.003 retinol activity equivalent respectively) when 100 mg is consumed. Virgin coconut oil and unadulterated honey can preserve beta-carotene if high amounts are used.en_US
dc.identifier.citationFood Research 1 (5) : 170 - 175 (October 2017)en_US
dc.identifier.issn0095-974X
dc.identifier.issn2550-2166
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/17905
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherRynnye Lyan Resourcesen_US
dc.subjectAmaranthusen_US
dc.subjectBeta-carotene preservationen_US
dc.subjectHoneyen_US
dc.subjectCoconut oilen_US
dc.subjectAntioxidant activityen_US
dc.titleRetention levels of vegetable extractable beta-carotene preserved in virgin coconut oil and unadulterated honeyen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Retention levels of vegetable......pdf
Size:
457.56 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Full Text Article
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
RP-Department of Chemistry