Variation and Abundance of Resistant Starch in Selected Banana Cultivars in Uganda.

The physiochemical, structural, and molecular characteristics of starch influence its functional properties, thereby dictating its utilization. The study aimed to profile the properties and quantity of resistant starch (RS) from 15 different banana varieties, extracted using a combination of alkaline and enzyme treatments. Granular structure and molecular organization were analyzed using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).

Internal Quality Assessment of East African Highland Cooking Banana ( spp.) Flour: Significance for Breeding and Industrial Applications.

This study assessed the internal quality traits of East African Highland cooking banana flours, exploring their significance for breeding and potential industrial applications. Twenty cultivars (nine hybrids and eleven landraces) were used. Swelling power capacity, water solubility, water absorption capacity, water absorption index, freeze-thawing stability, and pasting characteristics of banana flour were assessed using standard methods.

Pro-vitamin A carotenoids in East African highland banana and other cultivars grown in Uganda.

Bananas and plantains ( spp.) are an important staple and food security crop in sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, where the consumption of East African highland banana (EAHB) is the highest in the world, the population suffers from a high incidence of vitamin A deficiency (VAD).

Golden bananas in the field: elevated fruit pro-vitamin A from the expression of a single banana transgene.

Vitamin A deficiency remains one of the world's major public health problems despite food fortification and supplements strategies. Biofortification of staple crops with enhanced levels of pro-vitamin A (PVA) offers a sustainable alternative strategy to both food fortification and supplementation. As a proof of concept, PVA-biofortified transgenic Cavendish bananas were generated and field trialed in Australia with the aim of achieving a target level of 20 μg/g of dry weight (dw) β-carotene equivalent (β-CE) in the fruit.

Isolation and functional characterisation of banana phytoene synthase genes as potential cisgenes.

Carotenoids occur in all photosynthetic organisms where they protect photosystems from auto-oxidation, participate in photosynthetic energy transfer and are secondary metabolites. Of the more than 600 known plant carotenoids, few can be converted into vitamin A by humans and so these pro-vitamin A carotenoids (pVAC) are important in human nutrition. Phytoene synthase (PSY) is a key enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of pVACs and plays a central role in regulating pVAC accumulation in the edible portion of crop plants.