Abstract
The quality of food and food plants can be modified and optimized to meet the nutritional and health needs of at-risk and compromised populations prevalent in most of the developing countries. High rates of malnutrition, infectious disease as well as diet-related diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are prevalent in many developing countries. These are as a result of compromised immune function, inadequate sources of nutritious and quality foods and limited access to healthy and suitable foods. Biotechnology and genetic modification techniques have been proposed and applied for the improvement of the quality of various food crops. These have typically been geared towards increasing yields and pest resistance of cash crops. There is considerably less emphasis however, toward improving quality with regard to fortification or functionality of foods and food plants. Functional foods have nutritional and physiological benefits and are applicable in disease prevention and management. The application of biotechnology techniques for the development of functional food plants with higher levels of bioactive components or increased availability of nutrients would greatly benefit most populations in developing countries and improve the health and nutritional status overall. Key words : Biotechnology, functional foods, food quality, health, developing countries. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 2 (12), pp. 631-635, December 2003
Highlights
High rates of malnutrition and escalating rates of dietrelated diseases such as diabetes and hypertension in developing countries are attributable to various concerns: inadequate sources of dietary protein, foods with high levels of anti-nutritional components and toxicants, a disproportionate amount of highly digestible, highglycemic index carbohydrates which constitute the staple foods such as yams, maize and rice, and limited alternatives
While there has been some hesitation with regard to the acceptability and adoption of biotechnology products in certain developing countries, achievements such as the development of high-vitamin A rice have greatly increased the acceptability of biotechnology for human food applications among hitherto skeptical consumers
Improvement in soybean oil quality includes stabilization of the unsaturated fatty acids by increasing levels of the antioxidant, vitamin E (Yan and Kerr, 2002). These successes indicate a relevant and important role for biotechnology in improving food quality and developing functional foods, those targeted for needy populations in developing countries, such as children and pre-natal women
Summary
High rates of malnutrition and escalating rates of dietrelated diseases such as diabetes and hypertension in developing countries are attributable to various concerns: inadequate sources of dietary protein, foods with high levels of anti-nutritional components and toxicants, a disproportionate amount of highly digestible, highglycemic index carbohydrates which constitute the staple foods such as yams, maize and rice, and limited alternatives. While there has been some hesitation with regard to the acceptability and adoption of biotechnology products in certain developing countries, achievements such as the development of high-vitamin A rice have greatly increased the acceptability of biotechnology for human food applications among hitherto skeptical consumers It provides insights into the potential for application of biotechnology in developing improved quality and functional foods for human nutrition and health, rather than for use in agricultural technology for improved yields and pest resistance. Improvement in soybean oil quality includes stabilization of the unsaturated fatty acids by increasing levels of the antioxidant, vitamin E (Yan and Kerr, 2002) These successes indicate a relevant and important role for biotechnology in improving food quality and developing functional foods, those targeted for needy populations in developing countries, such as children and pre-natal women
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