Biofortification of Staple Crops to Alleviate Human Malnutrition: Contributions and Potential in Developing Countries

Abstract

Micronutrient malnutrition is a global health challenge affecting almost half of the global population, causing poor physical and mental development of children and a wide range of illnesses. It is most prevalent in young girls, women, and pre-school children who are suffering particularly from the low consumption of vitamins and micronutrients. Given this global challenge, biofortification has proven to be a promising and economical approach to increase the concentration of essential micronutrients in edible portions of staple crops. Produce quality and micronutrient content can be further enhanced with the use of micronutrient fertilizers. Especially developing countries with a high percentage of malnourished populations are attracted to this integrated biofortification, combining modern agronomic interventions and genetic improvement of food crops. Consequently, maize, rice, wheat, beans, pearl millet, sweet potato, and cassava have all been biofortified with increased concentrations of Fe, Zn, or provitamin A in various developing countries. Today, there are several large-scale success stories in Africa and Asia that support the research and development of biofortified crops. In this review, we summarized what has been achieved to date and how edible crops can be further improved by integrating agronomic and genetic strategies to upgrade the nutritional status of children and adults around the world.

Improving Nutrition through Biofortification - A Systematic Review

“…Nevertheless, identifying those at risk of Zn de ciency is challenging due to the lack of a reliable diagnostic tool. Another challenge can be reaching rural population as it needs continuous distribution of the supplements (Kiran et al, 2022). Other disadvantages of food supplementation include its reliance on the compliance of the targeted population, require well-de ned structures to successfully implement in targeted populations and is highly unsustainable, especially in developing countries (Jha & Warkentin, 2020; Lowe, 2021; Wakeel et al, 2018).…”

“…In some contexts, implementation of food forti cation is limited due lack of well-structured processing and distribution networks (Buturi et al, 2021;Lowe, 2021;Wakeel et al, 2018). Food forti cation also tends to favor urban areas rather than rural regions, where there are often communities with higher socioeconomic status, combined with higher levels of health education (Kiran et al, 2022;Lowe, 2021).…”

Improving Nutrition through Biofortification - A Systematic Review

“…Fortifying foods with nutrients such as Fe, I 2 and vitamins in developing countries has greatly reduced the prevalence of diseases associated with nutrient de ciencies (Mkambula et al, 2020). However, in developing countries, the higher prices of forti ed foods makes it less appealing to consumers (Chadare et al, 2019;Kiran et al, 2022). Thus, in developing countries, bioforti cation is considered as a complementary intervention in alleviating malnutrition and hidden hunger.…”

Soil zinc fertilisation does not increase maize yields but improves nutritional quality

“…Apart from yield quantity (Abbas et Sillanpää, 1990), Zn is also relevant for human health and insu cient intake can result in severe health issues. More than 17.3% of the global population are prone to insu cient Zn intake (Kiran et al, 2022) and 50% of all children in SSA are estimated to be at risk of Zn de ciency (Black et al, 2008). The risk of human Zn de ciency is considered high especially in Eastern and Southern African countries (Joy et al, 2014).…”

“…However, current assessments of possible micronutrient de ciencies among humans are based on standard food composition tables and consequently do not take into account variability in soil properties and associated soil Zn availability, which can signi cantly affect grain Zn concentrations, and subsequent Zn intake by humans (Gashu et al, 2021;Manzeke et al, 2012). It has been shown that increasing soil Zn availability through fertilisation is a feasible strategy to increase grain Zn concentrations, and thereby reduce the risk for human Zn de ciency (Cakmak, 2008;de Valença et al, 2017;Joy et al, 2015;Manzeke et al, 2012), also known as agronomic bioforti cation (Kiran et al, 2022). Next to soil Zn availability, the genetic variation among cultivated maize varieties has great implications on the Zn uptake from the soil, and the translocation of Zn to the edible parts (Brkic et al, 2004;Oikeh et al, 2007).…”