Enhancing nutrition: a review of provitamin A carotenoid cassava breeding initiatives in East Africa

Biofortification of staple food stands as one of the most reliable methods of alleviating vitamin A deficiency (VAD). Evidence suggests that introducing provitamin A carotenoid (pVAC) cassava into the diets of preschool and primary school children in East Africa has led to improvements in their reti...

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Autores principales: Abincha, W., Dzidzienyo, D.K., Wesonga, L.N., Mwimali, M., Ozimati, A., Kayondo, S.I., Ofori, K., Tongoona, P., Kivuva, B.M.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175312
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author Abincha, W.
Dzidzienyo, D.K.
Wesonga, L.N.
Mwimali, M.
Ozimati, A.
Kayondo, S.I.
Ofori, K.
Tongoona, P.
Kivuva, B.M.
author_browse Abincha, W.
Dzidzienyo, D.K.
Kayondo, S.I.
Kivuva, B.M.
Mwimali, M.
Ofori, K.
Ozimati, A.
Tongoona, P.
Wesonga, L.N.
author_facet Abincha, W.
Dzidzienyo, D.K.
Wesonga, L.N.
Mwimali, M.
Ozimati, A.
Kayondo, S.I.
Ofori, K.
Tongoona, P.
Kivuva, B.M.
author_sort Abincha, W.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Biofortification of staple food stands as one of the most reliable methods of alleviating vitamin A deficiency (VAD). Evidence suggests that introducing provitamin A carotenoid (pVAC) cassava into the diets of preschool and primary school children in East Africa has led to improvements in their retinol levels. Notably, Kenya and Uganda have initiated cassava biofortification programs in the region. These efforts involve the assembly and characterization of pVAC cassava germplasm, alongside the development of essential tools such as genomic prediction (GP) models and molecular markers for accelerating genetic gains in the biofortification programs. However, several challenges have emerged, including a negative correlation between carotenoid content and dry matter content in cassava roots, diseases, the absence of affordable high-throughput phenotyping methods, poor cassava flowering, poor pollen viability, low capacity in bioinformatics analyses, degradation of carotenoids during processing, and inadequate germplasm conservation facilities. To address these hurdles, cassava breeding programs in the region require enhanced infrastructure and human capacity to optimize efficiency in cassava biofortification with pVACs.
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spelling CGSpace1753122025-11-11T10:47:10Z Enhancing nutrition: a review of provitamin A carotenoid cassava breeding initiatives in East Africa Abincha, W. Dzidzienyo, D.K. Wesonga, L.N. Mwimali, M. Ozimati, A. Kayondo, S.I. Ofori, K. Tongoona, P. Kivuva, B.M. biofortification cassava manihot esculenta provitamins carotenoids east africa Biofortification of staple food stands as one of the most reliable methods of alleviating vitamin A deficiency (VAD). Evidence suggests that introducing provitamin A carotenoid (pVAC) cassava into the diets of preschool and primary school children in East Africa has led to improvements in their retinol levels. Notably, Kenya and Uganda have initiated cassava biofortification programs in the region. These efforts involve the assembly and characterization of pVAC cassava germplasm, alongside the development of essential tools such as genomic prediction (GP) models and molecular markers for accelerating genetic gains in the biofortification programs. However, several challenges have emerged, including a negative correlation between carotenoid content and dry matter content in cassava roots, diseases, the absence of affordable high-throughput phenotyping methods, poor cassava flowering, poor pollen viability, low capacity in bioinformatics analyses, degradation of carotenoids during processing, and inadequate germplasm conservation facilities. To address these hurdles, cassava breeding programs in the region require enhanced infrastructure and human capacity to optimize efficiency in cassava biofortification with pVACs. 2024-01 2025-06-25T14:42:22Z 2025-06-25T14:42:22Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175312 en Open Access application/pdf Abincha, W., Dzidzienyo, D.K., Wesonga, L.N., Mwimali, M., Ozimati, A., Kayondo, S.I., ... & Kivuva, B.M. (2024). Enhancing nutrition: a review of provitamin A carotenoid cassava breeding initiatives in East Africa. Advances in Agriculture, 2024(1): 9937876, 1-12.
spellingShingle biofortification
cassava
manihot esculenta
provitamins
carotenoids
east africa
Abincha, W.
Dzidzienyo, D.K.
Wesonga, L.N.
Mwimali, M.
Ozimati, A.
Kayondo, S.I.
Ofori, K.
Tongoona, P.
Kivuva, B.M.
Enhancing nutrition: a review of provitamin A carotenoid cassava breeding initiatives in East Africa
title Enhancing nutrition: a review of provitamin A carotenoid cassava breeding initiatives in East Africa
title_full Enhancing nutrition: a review of provitamin A carotenoid cassava breeding initiatives in East Africa
title_fullStr Enhancing nutrition: a review of provitamin A carotenoid cassava breeding initiatives in East Africa
title_full_unstemmed Enhancing nutrition: a review of provitamin A carotenoid cassava breeding initiatives in East Africa
title_short Enhancing nutrition: a review of provitamin A carotenoid cassava breeding initiatives in East Africa
title_sort enhancing nutrition a review of provitamin a carotenoid cassava breeding initiatives in east africa
topic biofortification
cassava
manihot esculenta
provitamins
carotenoids
east africa
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175312
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