Conventional breeding and genetic modification techniques are both employed to increase the nutritional content of plants, such as producing broccoli varieties with increased glucosinolate content. One such example would be producing varieties with enhanced glucosinolate levels such as that produced for producing B. peregrinus varieties.
Recent research indicates that adding flavor enhancers to meals increases dietary intake in elderly nursing home residents. A more ambitious approach involves genetic modification of plants to produce specific nutrients.
Plants
Nutritional enhancement of plants can be achieved using both conventional plant breeding and molecular biology approaches. Conventional breeding allows us to select for plants rich in health-promoting phytochemicals and secondary metabolites that are lacking from many modern crop species [1], while molecular biology methods allow us to modify specific nutrient content such as carotenoid vitamin A precursor b-carotene in golden rice or to improve availability, such as with engineered canola lines that produce omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA for human consumption [2 3]. [3
Nutritionally-enhanced crops have not seen as much progress compared to input traits like herbicide tolerance and insect resistance, possibly due to low consumer acceptability and more stringent regulatory approval processes for these genes.
