Genetically Engineered Tomatoes Have Higher Folate Content

Filed in archive Studies on March 11, 2007

Foods high in folate - leafy green vegetables and beans - are recommended for a healthy start in pregnancy.

One of the most vital nutrients for the human body's growth and development - folate - is typically suggested for women planning a pregnancy or who are pregnant.

Folate plays an essential role in both the production of nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA) and many other essential metabolic processes. Without folate, cell division will not be possible.

Through genetic engineering, a research team from University of Florida has produced tomatoes with a full day's worth of folate in a single serving.

According to Andrew Hanson, a plant biochemist at the University of Florida at Gainesville who developed the tomato along with colleague Jesse Gregory:

"This could potentially be beneficial worldwide. Now that we've shown it works in tomatoes, we can work on applying it to cereals and crops for less developed countries where folate deficiencies are a very serious problem."

In many underdeveloped countries where folic acid supplementation is impractical or too expensive, folate deficiencies remain a problem.

Study results have been published in the recent online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Read the full report.

In photo:Researchers have been able to bioengineer tomatoes that pack 25 times the normal amount of folate (molecule shown in lower left). (Credit: Zina Deretsky)

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