Biofortification

The term biofortification comes from the Greek words ‘bios’ and ‘fortification’; bios means life and fortification means strengthening or making strong. The two words put together are used to define the various methods, measures and practices to increase the number of essential nutrients in crops. This is done to harvest a crop with enhanced nutritional value, adding these nutrients while being produced.

Nutrients are the building blocks of a balanced diet. They comprise nutrients such as 

·      Vitamins

·      Minerals

·      Carbohydrates

·      Proteins

·      lipids

Every country in the world aims to have a food supply that minimises the risk to the health of its citizens. A cost-effective, viable and assuring technique of increasing nutrients and micronutrients in plants is required to fulfil this need.  

What is the Need for Biofortification?

It is estimated that 800 million of the world’s population is malnourished. However, the world now faces a different type of hunger called ‘hidden hunger’ that affects 2 billion people worldwide. Hidden hunger is caused when people eat foods that are poor in nutritional value.

Low- and middle-income countries face diseases such as stunted growth, blindness, impaired cognitive and psychomotor development, etc. These diseases are caused by deficiencies of nutrients such as Iron, Vitamin A and Zinc. The staple diet of these countries comprises carbohydrate-rich foods such as maize, wheat and rice. This diet lacks micronutrients, as they cannot grow their vegetables and fruits.

First-world countries do not fall behind and they face a deficiency of selenium. This is caused when people depend on food grown on selenium deficient soil. Scientists have come up with many measures to control this situation. One of the most efficient measures is the biofortification of crop yield.

Strategies of Biofortification

Scientists devise different techniques to enhance food crops depending on the biofortification classification of nutrients in the soil. Some of the methods are discussed below.

 Agronomic Practises

Plants absorb nutrients from the soil. To fix and enrich soil nutrients by adding micronutrient contents and using micronutrients as fertilisers—other techniques like soil tillage and irrigation. Plants are supposed to release certain enzymes and hormones to break down the organic matter in the soil to make it fit for absorption. Flavonoids are compounds that signal the attraction of microbes that protect the plant against abiotic and biotic factors. To restore the quality of the soil, microbes are artificially produced by the addition of plant growth-promoting bacteria.

The timing of soil tillage plays a major role in soil enhancement. Tillage is an age-old technique to improve the health of the soil. It is done both by mechanical means and by a human-powered method. The upper layer of the soil is tilled so that the layer can be smoothened to aid in the release of nutrition and aerate the soil. This technique of biofortification classification helps in the absorption of many nutrients.

Plant Breeding

Plant breeding involves the selective breeding of a certain crop to increase a certain micronutrient. Selective breeding is the most effective way of inducing crops with micronutrients. It is done by cross-breeding staple crop varieties enriched in micronutrients to further enhance the nutritional value of the plant further.  The process has certain drawbacks, like linkage drag, low hereditary mortality and the diversity of micronutrients.

 Micronutrient Fortification

Certain products are consumed daily, for example, milk, cereals, oil and spices. The addition of one or two micronutrients to these foods is known as micronutrient fortification. This may also have a targeted consumer base, like the youth or the children, for which certain growth boosters are required. The same strategy can be used to strengthen staple foods such as wheat flour or rice. Different micronutrients such as Zinc, Niacin, Riboflavin and Iron are used to modify the nutritional value. This is not similar for every micronutrient. Iron fortification is particularly difficult because of the quick oxidation. All the compounds with low oxidation sensitivity are easier to handle for fortification.

Sometimes countries experience an increase in diseases due to the deficiency of a certain nutrient. When we look at the deficiency of Iodine which causes the disease called Goitre, clinical prevention is to increase the amount of Iodine in the common table salt. Neural tube defects by fortifying folic acid and also prevent Anaemia by fortifying iron in staples such as wheat.  Such initiatives by the government and private companies to prevent certain diseases are called mass fortification. This is an effective way of managing micronutrient deficiency in countries with a large population.

 Genetic Engineering

When a certain nutrient is not naturally present in a crop variety, a transgenic approach is the only viable option to strengthen such crops with the particular nutrient. Transgenic fortification is done by introducing novel genes, downregulating and overexpressing certain genes or even disrupting the course of gene inhibitors.

By bio-synthesizing the level of beta-carotene in rice, which is converted by the body into vitamin A, scientists developed a variety of rice, called the Golden Rice (Oryza Sativa). It was developed specifically for its nutritive value and was used to address vitamin A deficiency and this is one of the best biofortification examples.

  Seed Priming

Iron Oxide nanoparticles are bombarded on the wheat seed before it is sown in the soil. This process of artificially inducing a micronutrient in a plant seed is known as seed priming. The seed hen sown in the soil attracts other iron particles for absorption. This technique is commonly used for wheat seeds, thus increasing their nutritional value.

Examples of Biofortification Projects

Various nutrients such as iron, vitamin A, Protein and zinc are classified according to their Biofortification.

• Iron-biofortified Beans, Sweet Potatoes, Rice , Cassava and Leguminous nodular plans
• Protein and Amino Acid-Biofortification of Cassava and Sorghum
• Vitamin A Carotenoid-Biofortification of Cassava, Sweet Potatoes and Maize
•  Zinc-Biofortification of Rice, Wheat, Sweet Potatoes and Maize 

Problems Faced in Biofortification

People are often opposed to the idea of biofortified yields, as there is a difference seen in characteristic features of the produce.

1. The best illustration of this is seen in the yellow-coloured maize. Only the white-coloured maize is seen fit for human consumption.
2. The same goes for the orange or darker yellow-coloured sweet potatoes compared to the white-fleshed normal sweet potatoes. These are foods rich in vitamin A, which alters their colour consistency. 
3. Another micronutrient like zinc alters the taste of the yield significantly
4. Therefore, a keen consideration has to be considered when selling these yields. The orange-coloured sweet Potatoes can be sold and marketed before their white-fleshed cousin so that it is consumed sooner. These slight differences in selective consumption can only be seen in urban, educated masses and not the rural masses.

Conclusion 

Immense potential can be seen in the biofortified crops. This is the immediate solution to the problem of hidden hunger that the world faces today. It is the most promising measure to improve the nutritional quality of the major crops. In some parts of the world, it has performed wonders to bring micronutrient deficiencies under control.  However, these biofortified products have to go through several “precautionary” regulations that slow the process of mass distribution. The well-known fortified Golden Rice, which is FDA approved, had to undergo a decade-long assessment to be approved by the Philippines in 2019.  Biofortification in the coming years will greatly enhance the nutritional value of food in the coming years and achieve stellar food security.