In a new study, researchers have found a way to significantly increase the vitamin B1 content in rice, a staple food for half the world’s population.
This advancement could play a crucial role in combating vitamin B1 deficiency, which leads to serious health issues in regions heavily reliant on rice for nutrition.
The collaborative effort involved scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), ETH Zurich, and National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) in Taiwan.
Their research, published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, marks a significant step in addressing a widespread public health concern.
Vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, is essential for maintaining a healthy nervous and cardiovascular system. Deficiency in this vital nutrient can cause diseases such as beriberi, which affects millions of people worldwide, especially in areas where rice is a primary food source.
The challenge with rice is that it naturally contains low levels of vitamin B1, and traditional processing methods, like polishing, remove up to 90% of this already scarce nutrient.
In an innovative approach, the team focused on enhancing vitamin B1 levels specifically in the rice grain’s endosperm—the part that is consumed after processing.
Previous attempts at biofortification, the process of increasing nutritional value through biological means, had only managed to raise vitamin levels in the plant’s leaves and bran but not in the edible portion of the grain.
By genetically modifying rice to express a gene that targets vitamin B1 accumulation in the endosperm, the researchers achieved a three to fourfold increase in the nutrient’s levels in polished rice grains.
What’s more, these modifications did not affect the rice’s agronomic performance, such as plant height, stem number, grain weight, and fertility. This breakthrough ensures that enhanced nutrition does not come at the expense of crop yield.
Field trials in Taiwan further confirmed the stability and effectiveness of these genetically modified rice lines under real agricultural conditions.
A 300-gram serving of this biofortified rice could provide about one-third of an adult’s daily recommended intake of vitamin B1, marking a significant improvement over current rice varieties.
The next steps involve incorporating these advancements into commercial rice varieties, a move that could drastically reduce vitamin B1 deficiency on a global scale.
However, before these biofortified crops can reach farmers’ fields, they must navigate the regulatory landscape surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
This research not only offers hope for enhancing the nutritional content of rice but also sets a precedent for addressing micronutrient deficiencies in other staple crops.
As the world grapples with nutritional challenges exacerbated by growing populations and changing climates, biofortification stands out as a key tool in the global fight against malnutrition.
The research findings can be found in Plant Biotechnology Journal.
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