Volume 34, Issue 2, June 2014, Pages 192–199
Original Research Article
Carotenoid content and traditional knowledge of breadfruit cultivars of the Republic of the Marshall Islands
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Highlights
▶
Breadfruit cultivars from the Marshall Islands contain provitamin A. ▶
Carotenoid-rich foods can protect against vitamin A deficiency. ▶
Traditional knowledge of breadfruit cultivars was examined using
ethnography. ▶ α- and β-carotene, total carotenoids of 6 breadfruit
cultivars of 2 species studied. ▶ Orange-fleshed Mejwaan variety had up to 3540 μg/100 g β-carotene, fresh weight.
Abstract
Vitamin
A deficiency (VAD) and non-communicable diseases including cancer,
heart disease and diabetes are serious health problems in the Republic
of the Marshall Islands (RMI), a small island nation of the Pacific.
These health problems are related to the trend towards over-consumption
of unhealthy imported processed foods and neglect of traditional foods.
Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis and Artocarpus mariannensis)
is the most widely available traditional starch food for RMI people.
The ripe fruit flesh is yellow or sometimes orange, as with the Mejwaan
cultivar, indicative of carotenoid content. Carotenoid-rich foods can
protect against VAD and non-communicable diseases. Yet little
information on carotenoid content of Marshallese breadfruit cultivars is
available. This study documents traditional knowledge of breadfruit
cultivars using ethnography, and analyzed 6 breadfruit cultivars of 2
species, A. altilis and A. mariannensis, for
provitamin A (β- and α-carotene) and total carotenoid content, using
high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The ripe seeded
breadfruit Mejwaan contained strikingly rich concentrations of
β-carotene (3540 μg/100 g fresh weight). Samples of other ripe and
mature cultivars, characterized by lighter-colored flesh, contained
medium- to low-carotenoid content (<5–102 μg/100 g fresh weight). As
samples were harvested from field-grown plants, it should be noted that
the quantity of carotenoids may vary when the same cultivars are planted
in different sites. Local experts reported that Mejwaan was
once common but is now becoming rare, and that people are now consuming
its ripe flesh much less frequently; the discovery of Mejwaan's rich carotenoid content should be used to promote this cultivar for its important health benefits.
Keywords
- Breadfruit;
- Artocarpus altilis;
- Artocarpus mariannensis;
- Fruit;
- Vitamin A;
- β-Carotene;
- α-Carotene;
- Marshall Islands;
- Vitamin A deficiency;
- Traditional knowledge;
- Indigenous foods;
- Ethnography;
- HPLC;
- Food analysis;
- Food composition;
- Biodiversity and nutrition
Copyright © 2014 Published by Elsevier Inc.
