Vegetable Biofortification: An Underexploited Silver Lining for Malnutrition Management

Abstract

Roughly 1000 million tonnes of vegetables enter the food chain of people across the globe. These are the cheapest and most readily available source of energy and nutrition. Vegetables except few starchy ones are rich in micronutrients compared to staple foods like cereals. Deficiencies of the ‘big five’, i.e. iron, calcium, iodine, selenium, and vitamin A, affect the health of half of the global population. It is not only the population of developing countries but also the developed countries face mineral deficiencies. Apart from supplementation in the forms of pills, people now want to move ahead from pill-popping society to natural products for the betterment of the health. This had led to the emergence of the science of biofortification, through various means: i.e. metabolic engineering (transgenic), agronomic biofortification, and genetic biofortification. Even after extensive research in the staple crops, proportionate success was not apparent as evident from the golden rice programme. The regulatory hurdles (transgenic approval) and narrow genetic base have pushed the biofortification beyond staple crops. The vegetables are inherently rich in minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins. These vegetable crops offer a wide range of variability in terms of the number of choices of crops across the seasons. Leafy vegetables are found to be one of the richest sources of iron and calcium. Coloured vegetables offer a wide choice to consumers along with anthocyanins and Β-carotene. Promoting the knowledge of vegetable vis-à-vis biofortified crops should be included in the government’s agenda nutritional programme, because of their potential to reach malnourished rural populations, who may have limited access to supplements and commercially fortified foods.