Orange-fleshed sweet potato has emerged as one of the most promising
plant sources of vitamin A, because of its high β-carotene content.
Vitamin A deficiency is widespread and a public health concern inmost
developing countries,with 190million (33.3%) preschool aged children
being vitamin A deficient (serumretinol b 20 μg/dL)worldwide (World
Health Organization (WHO) [WHO], 2009). The recent South African
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-1 (SANHANES-1)
reported that 43.6% of 2–5 year old children had lowserumretinol concentrations
(Shisana et al., 2013). Children who are vitamin A deficient
have a lower resistance against common childhood infections such as
respiratory and diarrhoeal diseases, measles, and malaria (Imdad,
Herzer, Mayo-Wilson, Yakoob, & Bhutta, 2010)