Tag: Human Nutrition

Plants synthesize interesting chemicals that attract, deter, amuse, and harm their predators. Some of the most harmful to humans have been selectively eliminated through the process of domestication, but others render potential food sources inedible. This review by Liu et al. discusses four approaches…

Human malnutrition results from the lack of essential mineral micronutrients.  In particular, iron deficiency might cause anaemia and stunted development in children, while zinc deficiency might reduce immunity to infectious diseases. In bread wheat, iron and zinc are located in the embryo and aleurone.…

Recently, there has been a huge impetus to develop plants that can perform well under stress conditions and produce high yields so that an ever-increasing human population can be fed. Another point, less discussed but equally important, is the nutritional value that these crops can provide. Cantwell-Jones…

As heterotrophs, we are what we eat. One of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is to end all forms of hunger, including the “hidden hunger” that results from nutrient deficiencies. Van Der Straeten et al. provide an overview of biofortification strategies. They review current successes from…

Biofortification aims at increasing the content of health-promoting nutrients in edible parts of the plant. As an example, enhancing the production of carotenoids - natural pigments that provide the yellow to red color – in crops could prevent vitamin A deficiency in humans. In nature, carotenoids…

Among all the mineral elements transported from the soil to the plant, cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As)- are toxic for all organisms whereas 13 micronutrients, including iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), are beneficial for both human and plant nutrition. Ideally, food crops should accumulate fewer soil contaminants…

Pigmented rice varieties are those in which a pigment is deposited in the bran, the outer layer of the grain. The pigment can be from brown to red (proanthocyanidins) or from purple to black (anthocyanins). In the course of domestication, humans have selected against the genetic factors responsible for…

Chromoplasts are a type of plastid, usually found in fruits and flowers, that can accumulate large amounts of carotenoids including beta-carotene (pro-vitamin A). It has been proposed that increasing chromoplast formation could be a way to enhance human consumption of vitamin A. In a new report, Llorente…