Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:

Impact of biofortified maize consumption on serum carotenoid concentrations in Zambian children

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 72, pages 301–303 (2018)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Biofortified maize, designed as an intervention strategy to prevent vitamin A deficiency, can provide upwards of 15 μg β-carotene per g dry weight. Some varieties also have elevated concentrations of other carotenoids. We conducted a cluster randomized, controlled feeding trial in rural Zambia to test the impact of daily consumption of biofortified maize over a 6-month period on vitamin A status. Serum concentrations of retinol and carotenoids were assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Data on circulating carotenoids by intervention group in 679 children are reported here. As previously shown, consumption of this β-carotene-rich maize significantly improved serum β-carotene concentrations (0.273 vs. 0.147 μmol/L, p < 0.001, in this subset of children). Here we show significant increases in α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, and zeaxanthin (p < 0.001). There was no impact on lutein or lycopene concentrations. Consumption of biofortified maize can have broader implications beyond the control of vitamin A deficiency (Trial registration: NCT01695148).

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Pillay K, Siwela M, Derera J, Veldman FJ, Provitamin A carotenoids in biofortified maize and their retention during processing and preparation of South African maize foods. J Food Sci Technol. 2014;51:634–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-011-0559-x.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Haskell MJ, Tanumihardjo SA, Palmer AC, Melse-Boonstra A, Talsma EF, Burri BJ. Effect of regular consumption of provitamin A biofortified staple crops on vitamin A status in populations in low-income countries. Afr J Food Agr Nutr Dev. 2017;17:11865–78.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Palmer AC, Siamusantu W, Chileshe J, Schulze KJ, Barffour M, Craft NE, et al. Provitamin A-biofortified maize increases serum beta-carotene, but not retinol, in marginally nourished children: a cluster-randomized trial in rural Zambia. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016;104:181–90. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.116.132571.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Harjes CE, Rocheford TR, Bai L, Brutnell TP, Kandianis CB, Sowinski SG, et al. Natural genetic variation in lycopene epsilon cyclase tapped for maize biofortification. Science. 2008;319:330–3. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1150255.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Chandler K, Lipka AE, Owens BF, Li HH, Buckler ES, Rocheford T, et al. Genetic analysis of visually scored orange kernel color in maize. Crop Sci. 2013;53:189–200. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2012.02.0129.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Burri BJ, Beta-cryptoxanthin as a source of vitamin A. J Sci Food Agric. 2015;95:1786–94. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.6942.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Ford ES, Gillespie C, Ballew C, Sowell A, Mannino DM. Serum carotenoid concentrations in US children and adolescents. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002;76:818–27.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Sheftel J, Gannon BM, Davis CR, Tanumihardjo SA, Provitamin A-biofortified maize consumption increases serum xanthophylls and 13C-natural abundance of retinol in Zambian children. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2017;242:1508–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/1535370217728500.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Miao B, Wang XD. Provitamin A carotenoids and cancer prevention. In: Tanumihardjo S, editor. Carotenoids and human health. New York, NY: Humana Press; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Lima VC, Rosen RB, Farah M, Macular pigment in retinal health and disease. Int J Retin Vitr. 2016;2:19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40942-016-0044-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the Mkushi District Management Team, Fabiana Moura, and Erick Boy for their support and acknowledge Sherry Tanumihardjo for testing food samples.

Funding

Funding for this study was provided by HarvestPlus (Grant #8251), Washington, DC, with support from the UK Department for International Development. Additional support was provided by the Sight and Life Global Research Institute of Johns Hopkins University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Amanda C. Palmer, Kerry J. Schulze, Maxwell Barffour & Keith P. West Jr

  2. Craft Technologies Inc., Wilson, ND, USA

    Neal E. Craft

  3. Tropical Diseases Research Centre, Ndola, Zambia

    Justin Chileshe

  4. National Food and Nutrition Commission, Lusaka, Zambia

    Ward Siamusantu

Authors
  1. Amanda C. Palmer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Neal E. Craft
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kerry J. Schulze
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Maxwell Barffour
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Justin Chileshe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Ward Siamusantu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Keith P. West Jr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amanda C. Palmer.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Palmer, A.C., Craft, N.E., Schulze, K.J. et al. Impact of biofortified maize consumption on serum carotenoid concentrations in Zambian children. Eur J Clin Nutr 72, 301–303 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-017-0054-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-017-0054-1

Search

Advanced search

Quick links