PEMANFAATAN UBIJALAR BERKADAR -KAROTEN
TINGGI SEBAGAI SUMBER VITAMIN A
Erliana Ginting, Yudi Widodo dan M. Jusuf
Balai Penelitian Tanaman Kacang-kacangan dan Umbi-umbian, Malang

ABSTRACT
Utilization of -Carotene High Content Sweet Potato as a Source of Vitamin A
In addition to a calorie source, sweetpotato is also potential as a source of vitamin A as it
contains carotenoids, pigments that cause yellow and orange colours of the flesh. The
predominant component of carotenoids is -carotene that constitues about 86-90% and
possesses the highest vitamin A activity among carotenoids. Vitamin A is needed for
physiological processes in the human body, thus vitamin A deficiency could cause alterations
on vision (up to permanent blindness), growth and immunity towards diseases. These cases
are commonly occur in pre-school children, particularly in developing countries. Therefore,
recommendation dietary allowances for vitamin A have been established for different groups
of age and sex through diets and supplements that are rich in vitamin A.
A number of sweetpotato cultivars in Indonesia contain fairly high -carotene (300 - > 4000
g/100 g). However, cultivars with high -carotene content, mostly have low dry matter
content and give sweet and moist taste. Hence, those undesired attributes should be
improved through selection and combination of the parents. -carotene content in
sweetpotato is influenced by planting and harvesting times, location and water availability. A
decrease of -carotene content was observed during processing, like boiling (8%), canning
(19.7%), drying (20.5%), heating in microwave (22.7%) and roasting (31.4%), while an increase
of 4-12% was noted in steaming. It is estimated, that the daily consumption of 200 g of
steamed roots derived from cultivars with -carotene content of 1,000 g/100 g, could satisfy
40% and 66% of the recommended daily allowances of vitamin A for adults and children,
respectively. Sweetpotato can be consumed as cooked fresh roots, drinks and flour-based
foods.
Keywords: -carotene, vitamin A, sweet potato cultivars, pre harvest, processing.

PENDAHULUAN

Ubijalar memiliki keistimewaan sebagai bahan pangan ditinjau dari nilai gizinya.
Dengan kandungan karbohidrat yang mencapai 80-90% dari berat keringnya, ubijalar sangat
potensial sebagai sumber kalori (105 Kkal/100 g). Selain itu, ubijalar juga merupakan sumber
vitamin, seperti vitamin A dan C serta mineral, yakni kalium, besi dan fosfor. Namun kadar
protein (1,4%) dan lemaknya (0,17%) relatif rendah (Bradbury dan Holloway, 1988), sehingga
konsumsinya perlu didampingi oleh bahan pangan lain yang berprotein tinggi.
 Seiring dengan meningkatnya kesadaran masyarakat terhadap kesehatan, perhatian
terhadap komponen kimia ubijalar yang dapat berfungsi sebagai makanan fungsional juga
meningkat. Salah satu diantaranya, adalah senyawa karotenoid, yaitu pigmen yang
menyebabkan daging umbi berwarna kuning, orange hingga jingga.
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