{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T23:36:59Z","timestamp":1792021019984,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"IMR Press","issue":"1-2","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2014,4,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p> Purpose: Vitamin A deficiency is among major health problems worldwide that leads to blindness, retarded growth and death, particularly in developing countries. In these countries, vitamin A deficiency largely affects pre-school children, pregnant and lactating mothers, and the rural poor. For instance, the predicted prevalence of vitamin A deficiency for 36 sub-Saharan African countries is 19.1 %. Methods: Different strategies, including vitamin A supplementation, food fortification and dietary diversification, have been used to combat this problem. However, these strategies are not sustainable due to their high costs. Results: Orange-fleshed sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam) is a low priced crop, which is part of staple foods in most of sub-Saharan Africa that can be a year-round source of vitamin A. Most of the orange-fleshed sweet potato varieties contain 3000 - 16000 \u03bcg 100 g<jats:sup>-1<\/jats:sup> of \u03b2-carotene and this contributes to 250 to 1300 \u03bcg 100 g<jats:sup>-1<\/jats:sup> Retinol Activity Equivalents (RAE). Therefore, by using orange-fleshed sweet potato, it is possible to improve vitamin A status, increase the bio-availability of different micro-nutrients such as Fe, Zn, Ca and Mg, reduce vitamin A deficiency and hence reduce child mortality rates by 23 to 30 %. Conclusion: The article highlights the significance of vitamin A for human nutrition, the effect of vitamin A deficiency, the different prevention methods and the potential of orange- fleshed sweet potato as a food crop to prevent vitamin A deficiency. <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1024\/0300-9831\/a000194","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2015,4,3]],"date-time":"2015-04-03T12:58:25Z","timestamp":1428065905000},"page":"65-78","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":65,"title":["The Potential of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato to Prevent Vitamin A Deficiency in Africa"],"prefix":"10.31083","volume":"84","author":[{"given":"Fekadu","family":"Gurmu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of KwaZulu-Natal, African Center for Crop Improvement, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, and South Agricultural Research Institute, Hawassa Research Centre, Hawassa, Ethiopia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shimelis","family":"Hussein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of KwaZulu-Natal, African Center for Crop Improvement, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mark","family":"Laing","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of KwaZulu-Natal, African Center for Crop Improvement, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"16242","container-title":["International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/econtent.hogrefe.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1024\/0300-9831\/a000194","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,9]],"date-time":"2024-08-09T02:09:15Z","timestamp":1723169355000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.imrpress.com\/journal\/IJVNR\/84\/1-2\/10.1024\/0300-9831\/a000194"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2014,4,1]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1-2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2014,4,1]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1024\/0300-9831\/a000194"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1024\/0300-9831\/a000194","relation":{},"ISSN":["0300-9831","1664-2821"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0300-9831","type":"print"},{"value":"1664-2821","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2014,4,1]]}}}