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Archives
Aug 1-31, 2003
World R&D
Vitamin E in Bt corn?
by By Rita T. dela
Cruz
 Today,
Bt corn takes another leap in the field of biotechnology
as scientists and researchers from the Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) of USDA developed a new method
to increase the Vitamin E level in corn.
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that
exists in eight naturally occurring compounds that process
activities in the body. Collectively, these eight compounds
are called tocols. All these tocols have antioxidant
activity. Antioxidant is the substance that protects
the cells against the effects of the 'free radicals'
that are potentially damaging by-products of the body's
metabolism. These free radicals could cause cell damage
and may contribute to the development of cardiovascular
disease and cancer. Although there hasn't been any available
study to confirm whether Vitamin E might help prevent
or delay the development of chronic diseases, it has
been associated with a number of beneficial effects
like reducing the level of cholesterol and improving
the health of pregnant women.
Vitamin E is naturally found in corn
and other vegetable oils. Since Bt corn has long been
developed and genetic engineering of crops has been
taken to a higher level of producing better quality
foods, scientists used it to increase its antioxidant
level.
What the scientists did is to examine
the pathway that would lead to tocopherols-one of the
naturally occurring forms of compounds in Vitamin E.
Tocopherols could be classified into two: the alpha
tocopherol and the gamma tocopherol. Between these two,
alpha was found to be more desirable for human and animal
consumption due to its powerful biological antioxidant.
Moreover, most of the breeding lines in corn have naturally
much more alpha tocopherol, thus the breeding goal to
increase Vitamin E level is much easier to achieve.
Using genetic engineering, scientists
introduced an enzyme that could redirect the metabolic
instability of the corn. The enzymes contained 10-15
times the total Vitamin E content of traditional corn
varieties. As a result, the Vitamin E content in corn
seeds was increased six-fold.
As of today, the new method is still
being refined. Scientists are studying further some
other attributes that could be beneficial to crop production
like increasing the resistance of plants to oxidative
stresses and in increasing its shelf life.
Sources:
"Scientists
Boost Antioxidant Content of Corn" by Sarah
Graham
"Enhancement of Vitamin E Levels in Corn"
by Drs. Torbert R. Rocheford, Jeffrey C. Wong, et.al.
Published in The Review. 
August 1-31 2003 Articles:
:: DA, DOST converge for agri-fisheries dev’t...
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Coconut: More than just a thirst quencher
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Medrano keynotes HARRDEC RDE symposium
::
Vitamin E in Bt corn?
::
Bt gains popularity in the Philippines
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769 new agriculturists DA Sec Lorenzo graces oath taking
::
BAR receives 159 papers for the 15th NRS
::
ICRISAT DG presents successes vis-à-vis vision
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Bringing in China’s super hybrid corn
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Detecting chemical contaminants in canned tuna and rice
::
Bio-organic fertilizers: cheap soil relief
::: More August 2003 articles :::
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