Chapter 9 - Biofortification of Staple Crops

Abstract

Half of the world population suffers from deficiencies in micronutrients—iron, zinc, vitamin A—largely among the people of developing countries depending on staple cereals, and these deficiencies may lead to health risks and even death in acute cases. The staple food crops are inherently low in micronutrients, and these are further reduced during grain and food processing. Among the various strategies to combat micronutrient malnutrition, biofortification may prove to be the most economical, feasible, and sustainable approach to increase the mineral content of staple food crops. Biofortified crops also bear the potential to enhance the agronomic efficiency of plants on mineral-poor soils. Biofortification involving enhanced uptake of minerals from soil, their transport to the leaves, and improved sequestration in the edible tissues of grains, is being done through combination of conventional and molecular breeding and genetic engineering. Bioavailability of micronutrients from cereal-based diets is also crucial and can be enhanced by lowering the anti-nutritional compounds like phytic acid and simultaneously increasing promoters of mineral absorption, such as ascorbic acid, inulin, and β-carotene. Thorough understanding of the molecular basis of micronutrient uptake, transport, and deposition in various grain tissues will further strengthen the biofortification program to enhance the micronutrients and minimize their losses during processing.