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Nutrient Requirements and Optimal Nutrition

Carotenoid-Biofortified Maize Maintains Adequate Vitamin A Status in Mongolian Gerbils¹

Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jhowe{at}nutrisci.wisc.edu.

Efforts to biofortify maize with provitamin A carotenoids have been successful, but the impact on vitamin A (VA) status has not been determined. We conducted two studies that investigated the bioefficacy of provitamin A carotenoids from maize and compared maize percentage and carotenoid concentrations on VA status in VA-depleted Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). Gerbils (n = 40/study) were fed a white maize diet 4 wk prior to treatment. In study 1, treatments (n = 10/group) included oil control, 60% high-ß-carotene maize, and ß-carotene or VA supplements (matched to high-ß-carotene maize). In study 2, gerbils were fed 30 or 60% orange or yellow maize diets. Gerbils were killed after 4 wk. In study 1, liver VA concentrations, compared with the high-ß-carotene maize group (0.25 ± 0.15 µmol/g), were higher in the VA group (0.56 ± 0.15 µmol/g, P < 0.05), lower in the control (0.10 ± 0.04 µmol/g, P < 0.05), and did not differ in the ß-carotene group (0.25 ± 0.08 µmol/g). Bioconversion was 3 µg ß-carotene to 1 µg retinol (1.5 mol ß-carotene to 1 mol retinol). The liver ß-carotene content was greater in the high-ß-carotene maize group (26.4 ± 6.0 nmol) than in the ß-carotene supplement group (14.1 ± 6.0 nmol; P < 0.05). In study 2, the gerbils' VA status improved with increasing dietary ß-carotene. Liver VA in gerbils fed orange maize was greater than in those fed yellow maize, regardless of maize percentage (P < 0.05). Biofortified maize adequately maintained VA status in Mongolian gerbils and was as efficacious as ß-carotene supplementation. In populations consuming maize as a staple food, using orange instead of white maize could dramatically affect VA status.

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