|
| | ||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| HOME | ABOUT US | CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBE | NEWSSTAND LOCATIONS | ||||
| ||||
|
|
| | |
Iowa researchers working on special corn varieties Thursday, October 16, 2003
DES MOINES (AP) -- Plant scientists are working to develop corn fortified with beta carotene to help fight blindness, birth defects and malnutrition in developing nations.
The research, under way at Iowa State University in Ames, also involves identifying known hybrids high in beta carotene. The substance is converted by the human body into vitamin A, which is essential for vision, cell division and growth.
"Corn is a good way of delivering vitamin A because you to deliver it with fats and oils that help in its uptake," said Stephen Howell, director of the university's Plant Sciences Institute.
The project has two components: Geneticist Steve Rodermel will lead a team in developing the new corn varieties and nutrition expert Wendy White will examine how vitamin A enrichment works.
"The crucial question is how much the beta carotene needs to be increased in this corn kernel," White said in a statement. "To answer this question, we first have to understand how much of the beta carotene is absorbed by the body and converted into vitamin A to meet daily requirements."
The study will focus on the 48 developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa that use corn as their staple food.
"Nigeria will be one of the first test sites for at least part of the project," Howell said.
"In fact, a particular area has been defined and there will be a team that will go out and conduct some feeding studies," he said.
Initially, existing hybrids high in beta carotene will be planted, Howell said.
Iowa State will share in a $1.6 million, three-year grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Its partners on the project are the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico; the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria; the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Wageningen University, the Netherlands; and Monsanto Co. in St. Louis.
Any scientific findings will be shared freely, Howell said.
"I don't think we would be doing this if we weren't intending that the outcome of this would be of great benefit to the nutrition and diet of these countries," he said.
|
| | |
| |
Copyright 2008 Agri News
All Rights Reserved
