Dados do Trabalho

Título

BRS NUTI: THE NEW EMBRAPA CULTIVAR OF ORANGE-FLESHED SWEET POTATO

Introdução

Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is a near-term solution to improve
micronutrient intake. Beauregard is the most well-known cultivar and has been widely
studied for effectiveness in fighting vitamin A deficiency, although, it presents low dry
matter content (DMC) and handling field performance. EMBRAPA recently released the
cultivar BRS Nuti, a promising OFSP with superior field performance and DMC

Material e Métodos

This study compared BRS Nuti, Beauregard, and a white-fleshed (WF) sweet potato grown
under similar conditions in Pelotas-RS for Total Soluble Solids (TSS) by refractometry,
carotenoids by UV-VIS spectroscopy (β-carotene, α-carotene, lycopene), and DMC by
gravimetry. Data were submitted to ANOVA, Tukey’s test, and Pearson’s correlation
(p <0.05).

Resultados e Discussão

TSS results were 3.69ºBrix, 3.87ºBrix, and 3.26ºBrix for BRS Nuti,
Beauregard, and WF respectively. Carotenoid values were 90.32µg/g, 48.45µg/g, and
5.29µg/g for β-carotene, 79.0µg/g, 46.0µg/g, and 5.73µg/g for α-carotene and 56.1µg/g,
31.5µg/g, and 3.55µg/g for lycopene in BRS Nuti, Beauregard, and WF respectively. WF
presented the lower carotenoid content, as expected due to its pulp color. BRS Nuti
carotenoid content was significantly higher, showing over 40% more carotenoids than
Beauregard. DMC, mostly represented by starch, showed 23.0%, 17.4%, and 36.7% for
BRS Nuti, Beauregard, and WF, respectively.

Conclusão

OFSP normally presents 18%-25% DMC, with moist texture and sweetness after cooking. In tropical countries, like Brazil, taste preference for sweet potatoes is a firm and floury texture after cooking, characteristics attended by >25 % DMC, as found for the WF, aligning with the typical preference for white/cream-fleshed cultivars in Brazil. Pearson's correlation revealed a negative correlation between DMC and both carotenoid and brix (-0.69 and -0.79 respectively),
indicating that the higher the DMC, the lower the carotenoid and brix. Sweet potato tissues can induce carotenoid biosynthesis which possibly explores the biofortification of this crop, hence, both carotene and starch will have to compete for carbon, causing the lower level of DMC observed for OFSP. BRS Nuti is a promising cultivar with high
provitamin A potential and taste adequacy, however, a comprehensive characterization is needed to assess such potential fully and help introduce this healthier crop into the Brazilian diet.