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Recently breeders have developed high-yielding and disease-resistant hybrid plantain varieties that need evaluation for end-use. This study evaluated the effect of ripening and processing methods on the color, nutritional, and mineral properties of hybrid plantain cultivars. Plantain pulps were subjected to frying (170°C for 2 min), boiling (100°C for 15 min), and drying (65°C for 48 h) at unripe and ripe stages before analysis. Ripening and processing methods had a highly significant (p

This report is part of the RTBfoods project (Work Package 1), aimed at deploying RTB varieties that meet user-preferred quality traits to increase the adoption and impact of improved RTB varieties in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The report presents the findings of a gendered product mapping (Step 2) of plantain products in Nigeria, conducted based on surveys in 12 rural communities in Osun in Nigeria’s South west, in Delta and Rivers in Nigeria’s South South, and across major urban centres and secondary towns. Plantain is an important food security crop for farming households in Nigeria, but little is known about the main food products of plantain across regions in Nigeria. This report presents the findings of the relative importance of plantain food products in the sampled states, while identifying the quality characteristics along the food chain by different stakeholders. It was found that farming practices vary across the study locations, influenced by household composition, ethnicity and migrant status. Dodo (fried plantains), boli (roasted plantains), boiled plantain, plantain with beans and porridge were the most common food products identified in the study areas. Fruit size, pulp texture (firmness/softness), colour, maturity stage and taste were identified as the most critical characteristics, with impact on quality of processed food products. Although there were significant differences between states regarding the importance of plantain food products, little interstate and gender differences were found for fresh fruit and food product quality characteristics. In the following chapters, the report describes the socio-economic context of plantain production, product preferences, varieties and important characteristics of the crop, product processing and characteristics,and marketing of plantain in Nigeria.

Biochemical characterisation of germplasm collections and crop wild relatives (CWRs) facilitates the assessment of biological potential and the selection of breeding lines for crop improvement. Data from the biochemical characterisation of staple root, tuber and banana (RTB) crops, i.e. banana (Musa spp.), cassava (Manihot esculenta), potato (Solanum tuberosum), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and yam (Dioscorea spp.), using a metabolomics approach is presented. The data support the previously published research article “Metabolite database for root, tuber, and banana crops to facilitate modern breeding in understudied crops”. Diversity panels for each crop, which included a variety of species, accessions, landraces and CWRs, were characterised. The biochemical profile for potato was based on five elite lines under abiotic stress. Metabolites were extracted from the tissue of foliage and storage organs (tuber, root and banana pulp) via solvent partition. Extracts were analysed via a combination of liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry (LC-MS), gas chromatography (GC)-MS, high pressure liquid chromatography with photodiode array detector (HPLC-PDA) and ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)-PDA. Metabolites were identified by mass spectral matching to in-house libraries comprised from authentic standards and comparison to databases or previously published literature. ispartof: Data in Brief vol:42 ispartof: location:Netherlands status: Published online

The Sok report was developed based on a review of existing literature on plantain from Nigeria and other countries where plantain is a predominant crop and interviews with key informants in Nigeria. The report addresses aspects of production, marketing and consumption of plantain. Although the focus is fried plantain (dodo), the report also focuses on other plantain products since little is known about the relative importance of dodo and plantain products within Nigeria in general. The SoK also considered the role of bred plantain hybrids (improved plantain varieties) disseminated in Nigeria which is also a focus of the end user survey.

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is one of the most prevalent micronutrient deficiencies that disproportionately affects low income populations in developing countries. Traditional breeding and modern biotechnology have significant potential to enhance micronutrient bioavailability in crops through biofortification. Bananas (Musa spp.) are economically important fruit crops grown throughout tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world where VAD is most prevalent. Some banana genotypes are rich in provitamin A carotenoids (pVACs), providing an opportunity to use bananas as a readily available vehicle for provitamin A delivery. This review summarizes the progress made in carotenoid research in bananas relative to banana diversity and the use of conventional breeding and transgenic approaches aimed at banana biofortification to address vitamin A deficiency. Existing reports on sampling strategies, pVAC retention and bioavailability are also evaluated as essential components for a successful banana biofortification effort. The wide variability of pVACs reported in banana cultivars coupled with recent advances in unraveling the diversity and genetic improvement of this globally important but often-neglected staple fruit crop underscores their importance in biofortification schemes. ispartof: Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition vol:59 issue:21 pages:3498-3510 ispartof: location:United States status: accepted