Biofortified rice hits targets in the field

Conventional varieties of rice have very low concentrations of Fe and Zn in polished grain. Nutritional studies tell us that biofortified rice should have much higher concentrations – approximately 13 ppm Fe and 28 ppm Zn – to provide sufficient levels of these essential micronutrients in human diets. Here we report on field-grown biofortified rice, evaluated in the Philippines and Colombia, with 15 ppm Fe and 46 ppm Zn in polished grain and no yield penalty nor uptake of harmful heavy metals. Furthermore, Fe from biofortified rice was more bioavailable than Fe from conventional rice as indicated by the Caco-2 cell assay.

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Trijatmiko KR, Dueñas C, Tsakirpaloglou N, Torrizo L, Arines FM, Adeva C, Balindong J, Oliva N, Sapasap MV, Borrero J, Rey J, Francisco P, Nelson A, Nakanishi H, Lombi E, Tako E, Glahn RP, Stangoulis J, Chadha-Mohanty P, Johnson AAT, Tohme J, Barry G, Slamet-Loedin IH (2016) Biofortified indica rice attains iron and zinc nutrition dietary targets in the field. Nature Scientific Reports 6: 19792. PDF