Biofortification

• Majority of the world’s population is suffering from the deficiency of proteins, vitamins and essential minerals.
• Goiter due to iodine deficiency, blindness due to vitamin A deficiency and anemia due to iron and folate deficiency remain major health problems in India.
• Through several food supplements are available to compensate the nutritional deficiencies, but new approaches are needed, especially to reach the poor.
• There is a need for multiple complementary strategies to address micronutrients deficiencies.

What is biofortification?

• Biofortification is the method for developing crops with higher level of vitamins, minerals, proteins and healthier fats to improve public health.
• It is the idea of breeding crops to increase their nutritional value.
• This can be done either through conventional breeding or through genetic engineering.
• The objectives of biofortification is to improve
  • Protein content and quality
  • Oil content and quality
  • Vitamin content
  • Micronutrients content
  • Mineral content
• Examples of biofortified crops: -
  • Maize with high beta carotene traits has been shown to be an efficacious as supplements of this orange coloured maize were released in Zambia in 2012.
  • Rice biofortified with zinc was released to farmers in Bangladesh in 2013.
  • The biofortified rice varieties have zinc content, i.e.- 30 % higher than local varieties.
• Some examples of crop varieties with improved nutrient contents are:
  • Maize hybrids with increased amount of amino acids, lysin and tryptophan.
  • Atlas 66 is a wheat variety having a high protein content which has been used as donor for improving cultivated wheat.
  • Iron fortified rice with five times increased iron content than commonly consumed varieties.
• Several vegetable crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals released by Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi are:
  • Vitamin – A enriched carrots, spinach and pumpkin.
  • Vitamin – C enriched bitter gourd, mustard, tomato and Chenopodium.
  • Iron and calcium enriched spinach and Chenopodium.
  • Protein enriched beans – broad, lablab, French and garden peas.