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Folate biofortification in food plants
Samir Bekaert1, Sergei Storozhenko, Payam Mehrshahi
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.
Trends in Plant Science
|December 18, 2007
Summary
Folate biofortification of crops offers a promising new strategy to combat folate deficiency globally. This approach complements existing methods, especially in regions where traditional interventions are challenging.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional biochemistry
- Plant metabolic engineering
- Global health
Background:
- Folate deficiency is a widespread global health issue.
- Current interventions like food fortification and folic acid supplements face accessibility challenges in certain regions.
- Biofortification of food crops presents a viable complementary strategy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current advancements in folate biofortification of food crops.
- To assess the feasibility of metabolic engineering for enhancing folate content in plants.
- To highlight the potential of biofortification as a novel food fortification approach.
Main Methods:
- Review of scientific literature on folate synthesis pathways.
- Analysis of metabolic engineering strategies in plants and bacteria.
- Evaluation of pilot studies on folate-enhanced crops.
Main Results:
- Understanding of folate synthesis genes and enzymes is sufficient for metabolic engineering.
- Pilot studies in engineered plants show encouraging results for folate enhancement.
- Folate biofortification is demonstrated as a feasible strategy.
Conclusions:
- Metabolic engineering of food crops is a promising avenue for folate enhancement.
- Folate biofortification can serve as a complementary strategy to combat global folate deficiency.
- This approach heralds a new era in food fortification, particularly for underserved populations.
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