Global Concerns with B Vitamin Statuses: Biofortification, Fortification, Hidden Hunger, Interactions, and Toxicity

Abstract

The prevalence of undernutrition due to insufficient energy intake has been reduced by nearly 50% since 1990. This reduction is largely attributed to improved yields of staple crops, such as wheat, rice, and maize; however, these improvements did little for micronutrient deficiencies that affect an estimated two billion people worldwide. Starchy staple crops are energy dense but are often lacking in one or more B vitamins, making resource‐constrained people who consume monotonous diets comprised predominantly of these staples at risk for developing deficiency. B vitamin deficiencies occur due to a poor overall nondiversified diet and rarely occur alone. Many B vitamins are essential cofactors involved in the metabolism of other nutrients, including other B vitamins, whereby the deficiency of one B vitamin affects the metabolism and status measurements of another. Food fortification efforts have nearly eradicated diseases of extreme B vitamin deficiency, such as beriberi from thiamin deficiency and pellagra from niacin deficiency. However, subclinical deficiency, sometimes referred to as hidden hunger, is still common especially in low‐income countries. Most dietary B vitamins, due to their water‐soluble nature, are not a concern for excessive intakes, but synthetic forms used for fortification and supplements sometimes can have adverse effects when consumed in high amounts. Biofortified crops offer a long‐term sustainable method to increase the amount of dietary B vitamins for people who rely on staple crops for most of their caloric intake. Efforts have been made to improve B vitamin content of crops, especially for thiamin, vitamin B6, and folate, but none have undergone human feeding trials; therefore, more research is needed to provide sustainable and scalable solutions in many parts of the world.

Vitamins in Cereals: A Critical Review of Content, Health Effects, Processing Losses, Bioaccessibility, Fortification, and Biofortification Strategies for Their Improvement

“…The natural opaque-2 (o2) mutation that is being exploited as a quality protein maize (QPM) leads to the synthesis of increased levels of the essential amino acids lysine and tryptophan ( 94 ). It has also been shown to increase the level of vitamin B3 equivalents due to the availability of more tryptophan and the subsequent conversion to nicotinamide ( 95 ). Furthermore, by combining the o2 and o16 mutants, an increase in lysine and tryptophan of between 40 and 80% has been observed in comparison with the o2 mutant alone ( 96 ).…”

Is There a Carcinogenic Risk Attached to Vitamin B12 Deficient Diets and What Should We Do About It? Reviewing the Facts

“…[ 105 ] Additionally, studies have reported that high folate concentration could mask the symptoms of a B 12 deficiency; thus, making it harder to diagnose quickly. [ 106 ] Future studies should look into the effects of a diet high in folate and deficient in B 12 and whether high folate intake could compensate for the lack of B 12 and/or rather mask an existing deficiency.…”

Comprehensive Vitamer Profiling of Folate Mono- and Polyglutamates in Baker’s Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) as a Function of Different Sample Preparation Procedures

“…Humans, however, are not able to synthesize folates de novo and thus are dependent on an adequate external supply with folates [37]. Deficiencies are usually overcome by supplementation or fortification with folic acid [38][39][40][41]. However, in contrast to synthetic supplements, natural folates have not been linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer [29,38,42].…”