Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026
09:31
Calcium Carbonate Formation in the Presence of Biopolymeric Additives
Published on: May 14, 2019
Plant calcium content: ready to remodel
Jian Yang1, Tracy Punshon, Mary Lou Guerinot
1United States Department of Agriculture/Agriculture Research Service Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. jiany@bcm.edu
Nutrients
|September 28, 2012
Summary
Understanding calcium
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Nutritional science
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Calcium's role in human health, particularly bone mineralization, is critical.
- Dietary calcium bioavailability is influenced by its form and location within food.
- Current strategies for enhancing calcium absorption from plants are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the link between calcium's subcellular location in plants and its bioavailability for human absorption.
- To identify plant characteristics that maximize human calcium absorption.
- To inform strategies for improving the nutritional value of crops.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (SXRF) microscopy for elemental imaging in plants.
- Analyzing the relationship between subcellular calcium distribution and nutrient bioavailability.
- Exploring plant cellular and molecular targets that regulate calcium localization.
Main Results:
- Emerging knowledge on plant cellular and molecular targets controlling calcium location.
- Elemental imaging reveals connections between subcellular calcium and bioavailability.
- Potential to identify plant traits for enhanced human calcium uptake.
Conclusions:
- Altering calcium's location within plants can improve human absorption.
- Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy is a valuable tool for plant nutrient research.
- Developing fortified foods can help combat low calcium intake and bone demineralization.
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