Anchote (Coccinia abyssinica) is an indigenous tuber crop of the Ethiopian Highlands. It is popular in the western Oromia Region of the country. Apart from food, the crop is also used in traditional medicine. Anchote tubers possess two variations in its tissue colour, red and white. In this study, a small market survey and a nutritional comparison of red and white anchote were conducted. White tissue anchote seems to be more popular, due to its soft texture and ease of cooking. However, the red variant was considered for flour making (by dehydration), for use in porridge and soups for various medicinal and supplementary food applications. Red anchote tubers contained significantly higher protein content (16.85 mg/100 g dry matter basis) than the white variant. However, apart from the marginally higher protein content compared to other tropical root and tuber crops, anchote seems to remain a primary source of carbohydrates. In macro minerals, white anchote proves to be a more important source of Ca with 81 mg/100 g edible portion; however, on dry matter basis, the content was similar to the red variant (316 and 309 mg/100 g dry matter, white and red respectively). Further research on vitamin content (especially vitamin A in the red variant) would be useful to understand the full nutrition potential of the crop.

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The inadequacy of food supply due to the population growth together with urbanization, drive a significant demand for animal sources. Consequently, a number of technologies have been developed and are being used commercially to enhance profitability of animal production and to improve their quality. The objective of this paper is to review recent studies on the effects of metabolic modifiers on quantity and quality of meat and their contribution in sustaining food security and improving quality of life. Metabolic modifiers such as β-agonists, anabolic implants, somatotropin, immunocastration, vitamin E, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and trace elements have been utilized by different agribusiness to improve meat production and enhance meat quality. These compounds supplement to the animals with feed, as an injection or implant to enhance the rate of gain, the feed utilization efficiency, carcass percentage, shelf-life of meat, improve meat's nutrient content and/or meat palatability. On the other hand, some metabolic modifiers are either not approved or banned from use due to negative health effects to the consumer. There is a consistent research report for the approved technologies enhancing protein synthesis and muscle deposition, while decreasing fat synthesis and deposition, when they are applied in the recommended dosage. Therefore, we believe that utilizing available technologies and methodologies in reference to the mentioned materials will help in improving meat quality and thereby increase productivity of the livestock resource and hence, improve food security.