The Role of Bio-fortification in Enhancing the Nutritional Quality of Vegetables: A Review

Bio-fortification is a process that enhances the nutritional quality of crops, including vegetables, by increasing their micronutrient content. It can be achieved through different approaches such as agronomic, conventional breeding, and transgenic/biotechnological methods. Vegetables are known to be rich in micronutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, and other health-benefiting compounds, making them essential for a balanced diet. However, malnutrition and hidden hunger continue to be global challenges, particularly in developing countries. Micronutrient deficiencies, such as iron, zinc, iodine, and vitamin A, are prevalent in these populations. Conventional breeding focuses on selecting genotypes with desirable nutritional traits without compromising agricultural productivity. Transgenic/biotechnological approaches involve the synthesis of transgenes to enhance the bioavailability of micronutrients in plants. Bio-fortification of vegetables is particularly important as they are rich sources of micronutrients, vitamins, and other health-benefiting compounds. However, improving the nutritional quality of vegetables through conventional breeding has had limited success, and modern molecular tools and techniques offer potential for handling complex traits and developing nutrient-dense varieties. Bio-fortification offers a sustainable solution to address these deficiencies by increasing the nutrient content of crops, particularly plant-based foods. These techniques have shown promising results in increasing the concentration of nutrients, such as iron, in vegetables, thereby improving their nutritional quality.