Nano-biofortifying crops with micronutrients and beneficial elements: Toward improved global nutrition

IF 4.8 1区农林科学 Q1 FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Food Bioscience Pub Date : 2025-05-14 DOI:10.1016/j.fbio.2025.106848

Hipólito Hernández-Hernández , Antonio Juárez-Maldonado

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Micronutrient deficiency, or “hidden hunger”, affects over 3 billion people globally, compromising health and food security, especially in developing countries. Conventional fertilizers used in agronomic biofortification often show limited nutrient use efficiency and environmental sustainability.

Methods

This review analyzed recent studies on the application of nano-fertilizers enriched with Zn, Fe, Se, Cu, Co, Ni, and Si for the biofortification of edible crop parts.

Main findings

Nano-biofortification significantly increases nutrient concentrations in grains, fruits, and leaves. For example, foliar application of ZnO nanoparticles increased grain zinc by 82 % (54.6 mg kg⁻¹) in corn compared to controls. Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles improved iron content in wheat grains by up to 72 % (80 mg kg⁻¹). Selenium nanoparticles enhanced Se bio-accessibility in soybean sprouts, and CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles improved both bio-accessibility and safety in wheat.

Conclusions

Nano-biofortification emerges as a promising strategy to enhance crop nutritional quality, contributing to global food and nutrition security. However, challenges such as production costs, regulatory gaps, and environmental risks must be addressed for safe and scalable implementation.

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含有微量营养素和有益元素的纳米生物强化作物：改善全球营养

微量营养素缺乏或“隐性饥饿”影响着全球30多亿人，危及健康和粮食安全，特别是在发展中国家。农艺生物强化中使用的常规肥料往往显示出有限的养分利用效率和环境可持续性。方法综述了近年来在作物可食部分生物强化中应用富锌、富铁、富硒、富铜、富钴、富镍、富硅纳米肥料的研究进展。纳米生物强化可显著提高谷物、水果和叶片中的营养浓度。例如，与对照相比，在玉米叶面施用氧化锌纳米粒子使籽粒锌增加了82% （54.6 mg kg - 1）。Fe2O3纳米颗粒可使小麦晶粒中的铁含量提高72% （80 mg kg - 1）。硒纳米粒子提高了大豆芽中硒的生物可及性，CoFe2O4纳米粒子提高了小麦的生物可及性和安全性。结论纳米生物强化是提高作物营养品质、促进全球粮食和营养安全的有效途径。然而，为了安全、可扩展的实施，必须解决生产成本、监管缺口和环境风险等挑战。

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来源期刊

Food Bioscience Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Biochemistry

CiteScore

6.40

自引率

5.80%

发文量

671

审稿时长

27 days

期刊介绍： Food Bioscience is a peer-reviewed journal that aims to provide a forum for recent developments in the field of bio-related food research. The journal focuses on both fundamental and applied research worldwide, with special attention to ethnic and cultural aspects of food bioresearch.