If you enjoy eating lettuce in your salads, sandwiches, and burgers, you’ll be thrilled to learn about the development of a new type of lettuce called “golden lettuce.” Scientists have genetically engineered this lettuce to be rich in vitamin A. Vitamin A is added to the lettuce through a process called biofortification, which involves increasing the nutrient density of food crops without compromising the qualities preferred by consumers, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). By using biotechnological techniques and treatments with high light intensity, scientists multiplied the levels of beta-carotene in leaves up to 30 times by creating new places to store it without affecting vital processes such as photosynthesis.
Beta-carotene is the main precursor of vitamin A in the human diet. Beta-carotene has antioxidant, immunostimulant and cognitive-enhancing properties. Specifically, beta-carotene is the primary precursor of retinoids, chemical compounds with essential bodily functions (vision, cell proliferation and differentiation, immune system), including vitamin A. High levels of the antioxidant, beta-carotene, give this lettuce a yellow colour.
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“Micronutrient deficiency, also known as hidden hunger, is still a major problem in many countries. In particular, vitamin A deficiency causes xerophthalmia and can lead to other health problems and even death, affecting children from malnourished populations worldwide,” the authors wrote in their study. “The incorporation of micronutrients such as vitamin A or its carotenoid precursors as dietary supplements or as food ingredients (i.e., food supplementation or fortification, respectively) can be a solution, but these strategies remain unaffordable in many cases.”
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According to the researchers, this new development “represents a very significant advance for improving nutrition through biofortification of vegetables such as lettuce, chard or spinach without giving up their characteristic scent and flavour.” The results of the research are published in the Plant Journal.
