Mineral Biofortification of Vegetables as a Tool to Improve Human Diet.

Camila Vanessa Buturi,Rosario Paolo Mauro,Vincenzo Fogliano,Cherubino Leonardi,Francesco Giuffrida

doi:10.3390/foods10020223

Camila Vanessa Buturi, Rosario Paolo Mauro + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10020223

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Abstract

Vegetables represent pillars of good nutrition since they provide important phytochemicals such as fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, as well as minerals. Biofortification proposes a promising strategy to increase the content of specific compounds. As minerals have important functionalities in the human metabolism, the possibility of enriching fresh consumed products, such as many vegetables, adopting specific agronomic approaches, has been considered. This review discusses the most recent findings on agronomic biofortification of vegetables, aimed at increasing in the edible portions the content of important minerals, such as calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iodine (I), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and silicon (Si). The focus was on selenium and iodine biofortification thus far, while for the other mineral elements, aspects related to vegetable typology, genotypes, chemical form, and application protocols are far from being well defined. Even if agronomic fortification is considered an easy to apply technique, the approach is complex considering several interactions occurring at crop level, as well as the bioavailability of different minerals for the consumer. Considering the latter, only few studies examined in a broad approach both the definition of biofortification protocols and the quantification of bioavailable fraction of the element.

Highlights

Received: 22 December 2020Many nutritional recommendations for human well-being and disease prevention have highlighted dietary styles based on the growing consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and the reduction of simple carbohydrates, sodium, and saturated and transfats consumption [1].In order to maintain a good health, people require several mineral nutrients that must be included in the diet
The essentiality of minerals can be demonstrated by the fact that vitamins cannot be absorbed solely or work in the absence of specific minerals, which are necessary in many physicochemical processes [2]
This review describes developments in agronomic biofortification of vegetables with reference to some mineral elements often lacking or not adequately present in human diets, i.e., calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iodine (I), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and silicon (Si)

Summary

Introduction

In order to maintain a good health, people require several mineral nutrients that must be included in the diet. Deficiencies of specific mineral elements affect, in both underdeveloped areas and industrialized countries, up to two-thirds of the world’s population [3,4,5] and the insufficient intake can cause severe damage to people’s health [6]. In Europe and Central Asia, malnutrition problems related to diets with low micronutrient contents are increasing the number of women and children with anemia. Iron and iodine deficiency disorders are the most common forms of malnutrition [7]. A recent study conducted in South Italy showed that the population has low intake of calcium and potassium [8]

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