| Abstract: | White bread was fortified individually with fat-coated l -ascorbic acid (AsA), cold-water-dispersible (CWD) β-carotene, and CWD all-rac-α-tocopheryl acetate (ToAc) at levels of 64, 5, and 100 mg, respectively, of active ingredient per 100 g of flour (14% mb). The freshly baked puploaves retained 76, 67, and 96% of added antioxidant, respectively. To extract ToAc quantitatively from bread or dough, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) gave better results than hexane, which indicated that ToAc was in a partially bound state. “Protein-encased” (PE) β-carotene did not impart a yellow color to bread crumb and had one-fourth higher retention in fresh bread when compared to CWD β-carotene. In loaves stored at 25°C for one to seven days, AsA disappeared rapidly and PE β-carotene disappeared slowly; CWD β-carotene and ToAc were stable. In spite of storage loss, bread fortified with PE β-carotene retained significantly higher levels of β-carotene when compared to CWD β-carotene. One serving size (one slice, 28 g) of three-day-old bread fortified with one of the three antioxidants was calculated to provide 7, 120–150, and 13–16%, respectively, of the adult recommended daily allowances (RDA) for vitamins C, E, and A. When bread was fortified with both fat-coated AsA and CWD β-carotene and stored for five days, no protecting effect on the retention of the antioxidants was found. |
