Biofortified crops for tackling micronutrient deficiencies – what impact are these having in developing countries and could they be of relevance within Europe?

AbstractThe development of crops that by harvest have accumulated higher amounts of a particular micronutrient than standard crops is known as biofortification. Biofortified staple crops such as provitamin A ‐biofortified sweet potato (‘orange sweet potato’), zinc‐biofortified rice (‘zinc rice’) and iron‐biofortified beans (‘iron beans’), developed by selective breeding, have been introduced into developing countries with the goal of reducing micronutrient deficiencies. In these settin gs, micronutrient deficiencies caused by low dietary intakes and exacerbated by inflammation and infection result in considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide. The aim of this review is twofold: (1) to describe the impact of biofortified crops on micronutrient intake, nutritional status and oth er biological endpoints in developing countries and (2) to consider the relevance of these nutritional effects in other parts of the world such as Europe. Regular consumption of biofortified crops in developing countries where micronutrient deficiency is common has been shown to increase micronutrie nt intakes and thus help meet the World Health Organization's dietary recommendations. In terms of micronutrient status, most research has been conducted using provitamin A‐biofortified crops (particularly orange sweet potato), with large 2‐ to 3‐year studies indicating increases in plasma re tinol, though additional studies measuring change in body stores would provide more defi...

Source: Nutrition Bulletin - November 8, 2018 Category: Nutrition Authors: S. Lockyer, A. White, J. L. Buttriss Tags: Review Source Type: research