A question of balance: achieving appropriate nutrient levels in biofortified staple crops

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Sanahuja Solsona, Georgina
Berman Quintana, Judit
Zorrilla López, Uxue
Twyman, Richard M.
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Sanahuja Solsona, Georgina;
Farré Martinez, Gemma;
Berman Quintana, Judit;
Zorrilla López, Uxue;
Twyman, Richard M.;
Capell Capell, Teresa;
...
Zhu, Changfu.
(2013)
.
A question of balance: achieving appropriate nutrient levels in biofortified staple crops.
Nutrition Research Reviews, 2013, vol. 26, núm. 2, p. 235-245.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954422413000176.
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The biofortification of staple crops with vitamins is an attractive strategy to increase the nutritional quality of human food, particularly in
areas where the population subsists on a cereal-based diet. Unlike other approaches, biofortification is sustainable and does not require
anything more than a standard food-distribution infrastructure. The health-promoting effects of vitamins depend on overall intake and
bioavailability, the latter influenced by food processing, absorption efficiency and the utilisation or retention of the vitamin in the
body. The bioavailability of vitamins in nutritionally enriched foods should ideally be adjusted to achieve the dietary reference intake
in a reasonable portion. Current vitamin biofortification programmes focus on the fat-soluble vitamins A and E, and the water-soluble
vitamins C and B9 (folate), but the control of dosage and bioavailability has been largely overlooked. In the present review, we discuss
the vitamin content of nutritionally enhanced foods developed by conventional breeding and genetic engineering, focusing on dosage
and bioavailability. Although the biofortification of staple crops could potentially address micronutrient deficiency on a global scale, further
research is required to develop effective strategies that match the bioavailability of vitamins to the requirements of the human diet.