Functional crops are coming

COMING SOON: Food products that contain higher levels of phytosterols for reduced cholesterol, crops with higher levels of carotenoids for increased vitamin A, potato loaded with antioxidants, low-linolenic soybean, and high-lysine corn.

These may be farfetched but the possibilities are endless. Thanks to genetic engineering, the crops of the future will no longer be just dreams but realities. Already, the world has seen eggplant and corn that defy pests, vitamin A-rich rice, herbicide tolerant soybean, virus resistant papaya, and high laureate canola.

They are called genetically modified (GM) crops, which are products of biotechnology, a "technique that makes use of organism (or parts of it) to make or modify products, to improve plants or animals, or to develop microorganisms for specific purposes."

GM crops are made through a process called genetic engineering. Dr. Antonio Alfonso, a plant breeder at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and the Crops Biotechnology Center director said genetic engineering is employed because of the following reasons: the trait is not present in the germplasm of the plant; the trait is very difficult to incorporate using conventional breeding methods; and it would take a very long time to introduce and/or improve such trait in the crop through conventional breeding.

In 1994, Calgene's delayed-ripening tomato became the first GM food crop to be produced and consumed in an industrialized country. Other GM crops -- corn, soybean, cotton, canola, and eggplant -- followed. These are called "first generation" crops which have proven their ability to lower farm-level production costs.

Now, research is focused on "second generation" GM crops that will feature increased nutritional and/or industrial traits. These crops will have more direct benefits to consumers. Examples include: potatoes with higher starch content and inulin; edible vaccines in corn, banana, and potatoes; corn varieties with low phytic acid and increased essential amino acids; healthier oils from soybean and canola; and allergen-free nuts.

These are called functional foods. It is defined as "foods or dietary components that claim to provide health benefits aside from basic nutrition." These foods contain biologically active substances such as antioxidants that may lower the risks from certain diseases associated with aging.

"Diet and health are closely related," explains the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). "Thus crops are now being enhanced through biotechnology to increase levels of important biologically active substances for improved nutrition, to increase body's resistance to illnesses, and to remove undesirable food components."

Linoleic acid (LA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are some of the essential fatty acids. These are considered essential because they cannot be synthesized by the human body. A large number of scientific research studies suggest that higher dietary essential fatty acid intakes are associated with reductions in cardiovascular disease risk.

The main food sources of the long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids are fish. Plants lack the enzymes to make long-chain fatty acids needed by human beings. Scientists at the University of Bristol modified Arabidopsis thaliana to produce long-chain PUFAs.

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Functional crops are coming