Biofortified Food Research Articles

Formulation of Moringa oleifera Lam. based Bio-fortified Food Supplement for Pregnant Women in Madagascar, Indian Ocean

The pregnant woman feeding is very important for the optimal embryonic development of the zygote. The present study suggests a formulation of food supplement in soup form. We were able to make a soup which is composed of vegetables and animal products. This product like food supplement can cover the pregnancy nutrients needs. In fact, the nutrients deficiencies during the first 1000 days lead to chronic malnutrition. Hence, preventive actions concerning this nutritional plague are necessary. Among that, the food supplement for pregnant manufacture can compensate the micronutrients and protein-energy deficiencies. This animal and plant-based food supplement contains various minerals such as Mg (368 mg/100g DM); Ca (2003 mg/100g DM); K (1324 mg/100g DM); P (204 mg/100g DM); Cu (0, 57 mg/100g DM); Fe (28, 2 mg/100g DM). Besides, the product is composed by carbohydrates (38, 2 g/100g DM), fats (2, 3 g/100g DM), and proteins (27, 1 g/100g DM) fibers (19, 3 g/100 g DM). It energetic value is 205 kCal per 100g.

Proceedings of the workshop ‘Biofortified food - Working together to get more nutritious food to the table in India’

HarvestPlus is the global leader in biofortification and has been leading biofortification efforts in India for nearly a decade. A workshop hosted by HarvestPlus was held in April 2019 in New Delhi to discuss ways to increase the scale, reach and impact of naturally nutritious (biofortified) foods in India by working in partnership with the food industry. This paper summarizes the output of that 2-day workshop. HarvestPlus has conducted research into the barriers for scale-up and co-created solutions to overcoming those barriers through partnership with the food industry. During this workshop, it emerged that there is significant demand from the food industry who see value in biofortification to both their business and the health of their customers and the country. Small working groups explored specific opportunities around supply chains, food products and composition, and consumers & markets. Several common themes emerged from the deliberations. All three groups identified lack of awareness as a major barrier to scale. More data on the health and nutrition impacts, as well as consumer and market research, is critically needed to build the food industry's understanding of biofortified foods. Ensuring supply chain integrity, meeting manufacturing product standards, and developing strategic messaging for consumers were also mentioned repeatedly. Ending hidden hunger and managing a profitable food business can be done simultaneously and sustainably. By addressing the barriers to embedding biofortification into the food system, HarvestPlus aims to increase the access that families and communities have to nutritious seeds and foods. This paper; is a summary of the activities required to take the nutritional requirements of foods, to; crop development all the way to food on consumers plates. Topics include current nutrition impact evidence, policy support, farmer issues, the requirements of the food industry and food product marketing and communication.

A Randomized Crossover Study to Evaluate Recipe Acceptability in Breastfeeding Mothers and Young Children in India Targeted for a Multiple Biofortified Food Crop Intervention.

BackgroundA multiple biofortified food crop trial targeting iron, zinc, and vitamin A deficiencies among young children and their breastfeeding mothers is planned in India.ObjectiveTo determine the acceptability of recipes prepared with control and biofortified pearl millet, wheat, lentils, and sweet potato.MethodsChildren (6-24 months) and their mothers were enrolled as pairs (n = 52). Weight and height/length were determined. Mothers and children were separately, individually randomized in a crossover design to control or biofortified recipes. Children’s 3-day intake was measured per recipe and crop variety. For mothers, a 9-point hedonic scale evaluated color, odor, taste, and overall acceptability.ResultsChildren’s mean (SD) length-/height-for-age Z-score was −1.2 (1.7), with 27% < −2 (stunted). Mean weight-for-length Z-score was −0.6 (1.2) with 9.6% < −2 (wasted). Mother’s body mass index showed 17% <18.5 and 38% >25. There was no difference in the children’s intake of biofortified versus control varieties of any recipe (P ≥ .22); overall median daily intake was 75 g (Q1: 61, Q3: 100). Mother’s hedonic scores for color, odor, taste, or overall acceptability did not demonstrate any notable differences (P ≥ .23 for overall acceptability); combined median overall acceptability score was 8.5 (Q1: 8.0, Q3: 9.0).ConclusionsRecipes were consumed readily, were rated as highly acceptable, and did not show any differences between biofortified and control varieties.

Iron Bioavailability from Multiple Biofortified Foods Using an in Vitro Digestion, Caco-2 Assay for Optimizing a Cyclic Menu for a Randomized Efficacy Trial (P10-029-19)

ObjectivesA multiple biofortified food crop trial targeting iron, zinc, and vitamin A deficiencies among young children and their breastfeeding mothers is planned in India. We sought to determine iron bioavailability from biofortified and conventional crop mixes representative of planned meal components. MethodsA 24-meal menu was developed based on pearl millet, sweet potato, and lentils targeted for a feeding trial. Crops were procured from India, cooked, and freeze-dried before two rounds of an established in vitro digestion/Caco-2 iron bioavailability assay. Samples used a fixed weight adjusted for sweet potato water content. Representative crop proportions were determined using k-means clustering, combined such that samples included either all biofortified or all control crop varieties, and analyzed in triplicate. Outcomes were Caco-2 iron uptake and uptake normalized to iron per sample for fractional bioavailability. Data were analyzed with generalized linear models in SAS accounting for crop proportions and variety. ResultsAcross both experiments, biofortified pearl millet alone demonstrated higher iron uptake than conventional varieties (5.01 ± 1.66 vs. 2.17 ± 0.96 ng ferritin/mg protein, P ≤ 0.036). Addition of sweet potato to pearl millet did not change iron uptake for biofortified varieties (P ≥0.13), but increased control iron uptake for all amounts of sweet potato (P ≤ 0.006), which did not differ from biofortified varieties (P ≥ 0.08). Lentil proportion increased iron uptake (β = 4.6 ± 2.2, P = 0.009), with no effect of variety or a lentil by variety interaction (P ≥ 0.56). The overall effect estimate of biofortified vs. control was (β = 1.79 ± 0.91, P = 0.08). Iron uptake normalized to iron per sample was higher for control crops (P ≤ 0.02), and enhanced by sweet potato, while inhibited by pearl millet (both P < 0.001). ConclusionsA Caco-2 assay predicts that biofortified pearl millet alone has greater iron bioavailability than control pearl millet. The addition of sweet potato and lentils increased overall and relative iron bioavailability, while reducing differences between biofortified and control varieties. Matrix effects, processing, and promoters/inhibitors of iron absorption should be considered in addition to total iron concentration when optimizing iron bioavailability. Funding SourcesThis work was supported by HarvestPlus and the USDA. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs▪

Effect of Intensive Agriculture-Nutrition Education and Extension Program Adoption and Diffusion of Biofortified Crops

Biofortification of staple crops to combat micronutrient deficiencies is gaining global recognition. Projects promoting biofortified food crops use intensive agriculture-nutrition education and extension activities to increase adoption of such crops. This study examines the effect of such programs on the adoption and diffusion of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). It finds that intensive agriculture-nutrition education and extension programs adopted by some of the biofortification projects increases the adoption and diffusion of OFSP. Specifically, participation in mother-to-mother nutrition support clubs and nutrition-focused health talks affect its adoption and diffusion, but with varying degrees of importance. The paper discusses the implications of these findings.

Farmers’ valuation of transgenic biofortified sorghum for nutritional improvement in Burkina Faso: A latent class approach

Micronutrient malnutrition has been a challenge in Burkina Faso for many years, where it has led to worsening food security situation. Vitamin, iron and zinc deficiencies affects 1 in 4 persons in the country and is responsible for early child nutritional disorder. The high prevalence of micronutrient malnutrition may be attributed to the dominant role in the diet of local sorghum varieties, deficient in essential micronutrients. To address this issue Africa Harvest is developing a biofortified sorghum variety. However the success of this innovation with farmers will depend on numerous factors such as product attributes, previous experience and socioeconomic factors. In this study, we applied a choice experiment to investigate the farmers’ valuation of various sorghum seed attributes as well as to identify the factors that influence the farmers valuation. Our results show that there is a market for transgenic biofortified food in the country and thus that it could be a veritable instrument for reducing micronutrient malnutrition problems. We found that farmers are willing to pay more for biofortified sorghum, particularly if it also scores better on other attributes than the local varieties. Furthermore, we showed that those that have experience with the first-generation genetic modified crop (Bt cotton), are more likely to adopt the second-generation crop (biofortified sorghum). Given the importance of the other attributes and the heterogeneous preferences it is key to involve farmers in the development of the new product.

Biofortified Crops Generated by Breeding, Agronomy, and Transgenic Approaches Are Improving Lives of Millions of People around the World.

Biofortification is an upcoming, promising, cost-effective, and sustainable technique of delivering micronutrients to a population that has limited access to diverse diets and other micronutrient interventions. Unfortunately, major food crops are poor sources of micronutrients required for normal human growth. The manuscript deals in all aspects of crop biofortification which includes—breeding, agronomy, and genetic modification. It tries to summarize all the biofortification research that has been conducted on different crops. Success stories of biofortification include lysine and tryptophan rich quality protein maize (World food prize 2000), Vitamin A rich orange sweet potato (World food prize 2016); generated by crop breeding, oleic acid, and stearidonic acid soybean enrichment; through genetic transformation and selenium, iodine, and zinc supplementation. The biofortified food crops, especially cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruits, are providing sufficient levels of micronutrients to targeted populations. Although a greater emphasis is being laid on transgenic research, the success rate and acceptability of breeding is much higher. Besides the challenges biofortified crops hold a bright future to address the malnutrition challenge.

Advantages and limitations of in vitro and in vivo methods of iron and zinc bioavailability evaluation in the assessment of biofortification program effectiveness

ABSTRACTBiofortification aims to improve the micronutrient concentration of staple food crops through the best practices of breeding and modern biotechnology. However, increased zinc and iron concentrations in food crops may not always translate into proportional increases in absorbed zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe). Therefore, assessing iron and zinc bioavailability in biofortified crops is imperative to evaluate the efficacy of breeding programs. This review aimed to investigate the advantages and limitations of in vitro and in vivo methods of iron and zinc bioavailability evaluation in the assessment of biofortification program effectiveness. In vitro, animal and isotopic human studies have shown high iron and zinc bioavailability in biofortified staple food crops. Human studies provide direct knowledge regarding the effectiveness of biofortification, however, human studies are time consuming and are more expensive than in vitro and animal studies. Moreover, in vitro studies may be a useful preliminary screening method to identify promising plant cultivars, however, these studies cannot provide data that are directly applicable to humans. None of these methods provides complete information regarding mineral bioavailability, thus, a combination of these methods should be the most appropriate strategy to investigate the effectiveness of zinc and iron biofortification programs.

Progress update: Crop development of biofortified staple food crops under HarvestPlus

Over the past 15 years, biofortification, the process of breeding nutrients into food crops, has gained ample recognition as a cost-effective, complementary, feasible means of delivering micronutrients to populations that may have limited access to diverse diets, supplements, or commercially fortified foods. In 2008, a panel of noted economists that included five Nobel Laureates ranked biofortification fifth among the most cost-effective solutions to address global challenges such as reducing hidden hunger. The 2016 World Food Prize was awarded to biofortification. Biofortification involves breeding staple food crops to increase their micronutrient content, targeting foods widely consumed by low-income families in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The focus is on providing sufficient levels of vitamin A, iron, and/or zinc through these crops, based on existing consumption patterns. HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). HarvestPlus works in partnership with more than 200 scientific and implementation organizations around the world to improve nutrition and public health by developing and promoting biofortified food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals, and providing global leadership on biofortification evidence and technology. Crops bred for higher levels of micronutrients using conventional breeding methods have been released in 26 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and are now being grown and eaten by millions of farmers and consumers. This paper reviews crop development progress and varietal release of primary (major) and secondary (regionally important) staple crops, with a focus on progress in Africa. Keywords: Biofortification, Micronutrients, Micronutrient Deficiency, Staple Crops, Breeding, Provitamin A, Iron, Zinc

Integration and validation of an SMS-based bidding procedure of eliciting consumers’ willingness-to-pay for food

Purpose Despite the large body of research on consumers’ willingness-to-pay for new food, few studies have tried to integrate new technology-based systems and improve their validity. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the integration of short messaging service (SMS) in experimental auctions. Design/methodology/approach Based on a case study on iodine biofortified food with 180 household decision makers in Africa, a standard Becker-Degroot-Marschak procedure was compared with the novel SMS-based procedure through five information/auction rounds. Thereby, a standard protocol commonly employed in validation of medical diagnostic tests was adopted, assessing the sensitivity, specificity, precision, negative predictive values, likelihood ratios and post-test probability. Findings The SMS-based elicitation exhibited high levels of sensitivity (89-95 per cent), specificity (63-73 per cent), precision (40-60 per cent), NPV (92-98 per cent), LR+(2.6-3.3) and LR−(0.08-0.2) for all the auction rounds. The post-test plot indicates that the novel procedure is particularly consistent in ascertaining positive and negative valuations for a new food product. Originality/value Even though SMS-based bidding is shown to be an accurate, but also convenient and attractive bidding procedure, which is in line with novel ways of purchasing food, further validation is inevitable to determine its reliability in different contexts and its most effective use.

A novel framework for analysing stakeholder interest in healthy foods: A case study on iodine biofortification

ABSTRACTDespite the availability of novel strategies to prevent micronutrient malnutrition, such as biofortification, limited understanding of stakeholders often hampers their success. We build upon the existing literature on protection motivations (PMT) and technology acceptance (TAM) to develop an integrated PMTAM model for analyzing stakeholders’ reactions, on both the supply and demand sides. Regarding the latter, the case of the iodine biofortified food chain is used to evaluate African households’ interest. All model constructs, and threat appraisal in particular, are decisive in determining the uptake of biofortification, while also social demographics and own nutrition status play an important role.

Enhancing the health-promoting effects of tomato fruit for biofortified food.

Consumption of tomato fruits, like those of many other plant species that are part of the human diet, is considered to be associated with several positive effects on health. Indeed, tomato fruits are an important source of bioactive compounds with known beneficial effects including vitamins, antioxidants, and anticancer substances. In particular, antioxidant metabolites are a group of vitamins, carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and phenolic acid that can provide effective protection by neutralizing free radicals, which are unstable molecules linked to the development of a number of degenerative diseases and conditions. In this review, we will summarize the recent progress on tomatoes nutritional importance and mechanisms of action of different phytochemicals against inflammation processes and prevention of chronic noncommunicable diseases (e.g., obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hypertension). In addition, we will summarize the significant progress recently made to improve the nutritional quality of tomato fruits through metabolic engineering and/or breeding.

Developing GM super cassava for improved health and food security: future challenges in Africa

BackgroundThere is an urgent need to solve the problem of micronutrient malnutrition that is prevalent among young children and women in Africa. Genetically modified (GM) biofortified cassava has great potential to solve part of this problem, but controversy surrounding GM technology and lack of awareness, limited facilities, biased news and other factors may hinder the adoption of GM cassava in the future.MethodUsing semi-structured interviews in Ghana and Nigeria, this paper examines the perspectives of scientists, including the BioCassava Plus (BC+) team, on the potential adoption of GM cassava for improving health and food security in Africa. The article also examines issues around the regulatory system and transfer and acceptance of GM cassava among scientists.Results and discussionThe result suggests that an overwhelming majority of scientists agree that GM biofortified cassava will benefit the health of millions in Africa, and that GM cassava conferred with disease and pest resistance will increase cassava production as it is currently plagued by cassava mosaic diseases (CMD). However, respondents are wary of long-term effects of GM cassava on the environment and lack of a regulatory framework to facilitate the adoption of GM cassava. Even though scientists expressed little or no concern about health risks of GM cassava, they were concerned that consumers may express such concerns given limited understanding of GM technology.ConclusionThe article concludes with a summary of priorities for policy development with regard to adopting biofortified food products.

Evaluation of a human efficacy trial: tracking biofortified iron through an intervention

Iron deficiency is the most prevalent nutrient deficiency in the world, a major cause of which is a lack of bioavailable dietary iron (Fe). Black beans are consumed as a staple food in Latin America, and were the intervention used in a trial to study the effects of consuming a biofortified food on Fe status of Mexican school children. We evaluated samples of raw, cooked, and mixed meals containing high‐Fe (intervention) and control beans for Fe concentration and relative Fe bioavailability using the in vitro digestion / Caco‐2 cell model. Fe concentration of raw and cooked high‐Fe bean were 27 and 43 ppm higher, respectively (p&lt;0.001) compared to the control, confirming that the harvested crop was biofortified. However, analysis of the mixed meal showed no difference in Fe concentration between groups. The high‐Fe bean demonstrated a higher bioavailability response compared to the control (p=0.02), as measured by the in vitro model. There was no difference between groups in the raw or meal sample. Fe concentration and bioavailability were correlated in the cooked sample (r=0.59, p&lt;0.001), as well as the mixed meals (r=0.47, p&lt;0.001). These results show the complexity of conducting a human feeding trial under free‐living conditions, as well as the necessity of tracking biofortified Fe in the diet while conducting these types of studies.

Transgenic Crops: Opportunities and Risks

Crop productivity and land use must be optimised in the next few decades, if we are to feed a growing human population. Transgenic crops offer many opportunities to help increase crop yields and food quality, contributing as well to a sustainable agriculture. Herbicide tolerant and insect resistant GM crops, cultivated in steadily increasing areas for almost 15 years, have produced higher yields, and have reduced the use of toxic pesticides and CO2 emissions. Drought and salt tolerant transgenic crops, now under development, will further boost productivity and contribute to extend arable land to marginal soils, while biofortified food crops will help low-income people in developing countries to overcome nutritional deficiencies. Despite these possibilities, there is a strong opposition to GM crops in the EU, which is hampering not only the use of the biotech crops available at present, but also research and development on new varieties. The arguments of ‘green’ activists are based on the high risks for human health and the environment, supposedly associated with the use of GM plants in agriculture. However, most of their claims are not supported by sound scientific data, some of the potential risks are negligible or, if not, are avoided before the GM crop reaches the market, or controlled in the fields using appropriate management strategies.

Evaluating the Impact of Plant Biofortification on Human Nutrition

An evaluation of the efficacy of biofortified foods for improving human nutrition and health requires both laboratory- and community-based trials. A three-step process is proposed. First, tests of nutrient bioavailability should be conducted in the laboratory. Various genotypes of modified foods may be screened for bioavailability using in vitro cell-culture systems or experimental animals before testing in humans. Second, comprehensive feeding trials are conducted to test the efficacy of the biofortified food for improving the nutrition and health of target populations. These trials are generally done for several weeks or months, and they involve measuring a comprehensive set of endpoints. If efficacy is demonstrated in the feeding trial, the third step, a community-based trial, is planned. This final trial involves evaluating the nutritional, health, agricultural, societal, environmental and economic effects of the biofortified food in the community. A multidisciplinary team including consumers, policymakers, health leaders, as well as scientists is required for successful completion of the community trial.