Beta-carotene retention in oven and sun dried carrot

Abstract

Despite major interventions and program to deal with the cases of vitamin A deficiencies , the rates remain high, at 14.7% in children and 9% in women with the conditions related to the same affecting lives of so many people . This is because the dietary sources of beta-carotene , (a precursor for vitamin A) like carrots, dark green vegetables and fruits are not evenly distributed throughout the country and are seasonal . Again, considering that this source is perishable it is hard to reach people countrywide in good condition because of poor infrastructure and storage facilities . Methods of preserving carrots like refrigeration and freezing may also be expensive especially to people of low economic status . Animal sources of vitamin A are also expensive . The project therefore was aiming at contributing to the reduction of vitamin A deficiency in Kenya . This was to be achieved through reducing carrots water activity and increasing carrots ' shelf life and this was to ensure that every Kenyan could access this precious source of vitamin A without incurring other storage costs and this was to consequently reduce the conditions of vitamin A deficiency in Kenya like night blindness and xerophthalmia among others. The objective of this project was to assess the retention of beta carotene in dried carrots. Carrots were dried using three different methods and beta carotene retained from each method determined . To do this carrots sample were obtained from the market, washed , grated and the initial beta-carotene determined . Then another sample was taken, and part of this sample was sun dried and the other part was dried in an oven to a moisture content of 10%. Data analysis Each drying method had 5 samples whose results were averaged to get the mean of the beta carotene retained. Then these means were compared using ANOV A tables to establish the variability among the three methods.