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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Hydroponics: A Versatile System to Study Nutrient Allocation and Plant Responses to Nutrient Availability and Exposure to Toxic Elements
Published on: July 13, 2016
IMPROVING THE NUTRIENT COMPOSITION OF PLANTS TO ENHANCE HUMAN NUTRITION AND HEALTH1
Michael A. Grusak1, Dean DellaPenna
1Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Houston, Texas 77030; e-mail: mgrusak@bcm.tmc.edu, Department of Biochemistry, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557;
Abstract:
Plant foods contain almost all of the mineral and organic nutrients established as essential for human nutrition, as well as a number of unique organic phytochemicals that have been linked to the promotion of good health. Because the concentrations of many of these dietary constituents are often low in edible plant sources, research is under way to understand the physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms that contribute to their transport, synthesis and accumulation in plants. This knowledge can be used to develop strategies with which to manipulate crop plants, and thereby improve their nutritional quality. Improvement strategies will differ between various nutrients, but generalizations can be made for mineral or organic nutrients. This review focuses on the plant nutritional physiology and biochemistry of two essential human nutrients, iron and vitamin E, to provide examples of the type of information that is needed, and the strategies that can be used, to improve the mineral or organic nutrient composition of plants.
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