Abstract

Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) varieties are being propagated in Nigeria to aid in combating dietary vitamin A deficiency in the country due to their high content of β-carotene (a precursor of vitamin A in humans). Tuberous roots of yellow and orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) genotypes were assessed in Nigeria for their potential usage in the production of fried pro-vitamin A rich chips. Results showed that while the fresh OFSP roots had 38.68 to 66.36 μg/g β-carotene content, their fried chips had 27.54 to 60.49 μg/g β-carotene content. Selected semi-trained Nigerian sensory assessors relatively liked these pro-vitamin A rich chips (that can serve as a functional food) with varying level of acceptance for most of the evaluated sensory parameters (sugariness, crispness and overall acceptability).

Key words: Orange-fleshed sweet potato, fried chips, β-carotene, pro-vitamin A, functional food, Nigeria.