31 January 2011
One of the World’s greatest challenges is to secure sufficient and healthy food for all, and to do so in an environmentally sustainable manner. This review explores the interrelationships of food, health, and environment, and their role in addressing...
One out of three humans suffer from micronutrient deficiencies called “hidden hunger”. Underprivileged people, including preschool children and women, suffer most from deficiency diseases and other health-related issues. Rice (Oryza sativ...
Hidden hunger, also known as micronutrient deficiency, is a form of undernutrition, which is exacerbated when food security is fragile. However, the amount of phytonutrients in the diet can be increased by using underutilized species, such as fresh m...
The global population, including the United States, is experiencing a demographic shift with the proportion of older adults (aged ≥ 65 years) growing faster than any other age group. This demographic group is at higher risk for developing nutritio...
Micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs), also known as hidden hunger, affect more than a quarter of the global population. Agronomic biofortification helps to increase the concentration of a target mineral in food crops and improve human mineral dietary in...
Zinc deficiency affects one third of the population worldwide, and vitamin A deficiency is a prevalent public health issue in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-Asia, including Nepal. Crop biofortification is the sustainable solution to these health—...
In many poorer parts of the world, biofortification is a strategy that increases the concentration of target nutrients in staple food crops, mainly by genetic manipulation, to alleviate prevalent nutrient deficiencies. We reviewed the (i) prevalence...
Worldwide, over half of all preschool-aged children and two-thirds of non-pregnant women of reproductive age suffer from hidden hunger. This situation may worsen due to the expected increase in the world population and the effects of climate change....
Mushrooms exhibit a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities and are widely used for medical purposes and in nutrition. Numerous bioactive metabolites are responsible for these activities. Their distribution and biological effects differ dependin...
Biofortification is a new agricultural intervention to alleviate hidden hunger in China and even the world. Exploring the impact of farmers′ adoption of biofortification on return on investment (ROI), which is calculated from farmers′ pro...
Food security and hidden hunger are two worldwide serious and complex challenges nowadays. As one of the newly emerged technologies, gene editing technology and its application to crop improvement offers the possibility to relieve the pressure of foo...
Biotechnology assumes a paramount role in addressing micronutrient deficiencies. The promotion thereof and the augmentation of public awareness are indispensable for implementation. The advancement of big data presents challenges due to the plethora...
Micronutrient deficiencies, also known as “hidden hunger,” remain a pervasive public health issue in low- and middle-income countries, particularly among vulnerable populations within these countries. The main drivers of these deficiencie...
Given that an effective combined foliar application of iodine (I), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn) would be farmer friendly, compared to a separate spray of each micronutrient, for the simultaneous biofortification of grain crops, we compared effectiven...
The aim of the present research is to provide a comprehensive review about the current challenges related to food security and hidden hunger. Issues are presented according to major factors, such as growing population, changing dietary habits, water...
Zinc (Zn) deficiency affects over 30% of the global population, with the highest burdens in developing countries reliant on cereal-based diets. As a major dietary staple in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, common bean (Phaseolus...
Microelement deficiencies, often termed “hidden hunger”, represent a significant global health challenge. Optimal human health relies on adequate dietary intake of essential microelements, including selenium (Se), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu),...
Background: Pediatric obesity exemplifies the paradox of energy excess coexisting with nutritional inadequacy. Despite high caloric intake, children with obesity often display deficiencies in essential macro- and micronutrients that impair growth, me...
10 October 2022
College students are a vulnerable population to food insecurity (FI), which has significant implications for academic and health outcomes. The aims of this study were to explore the meaning of FI and its impact on students’ lived experiences an...
4 July 2024
Micronutrient deficiencies remain a public health burden among non-pregnant women in developing countries, including Nepal. Hence, this study examined micronutrient deficiencies among non-pregnant Nepalese women aged 15–49 using the 2016 Nepal...
Agronomic biofortification of horticultural crops using plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) under crop residue incorporation systems remains largely underexploited. Bacillus subtilis (B1), Bacillus laterosporus (B2), or Bacillus amyloliquefac...
The growing importance of rice globally over the past three decades is evident in its strategic place in many countries’ food security planning policies. Still, its cultivation emits substantial greenhouse gases (GHGs). The Indica and Japonica sub-sp...
International agricultural policies to address hunger and malnutrition in the tropics and sub-tropics have typically been based on approaches to the intensification of farming systems effective in industrialised economies where the social, economic,...
Vitamin B12 (also known as cobalamin) is an essential water-soluble vitamin that plays a pivotal role for several physiologic functions during one’s lifespan. Only certain microorganisms are able to synthetize B12, thus humans obtain cobalamin exclus...
Rice is the principal source of calories for more than half of the world’s population, and while an excellent source of energy is a relatively poor source of micronutrients. Developing rice varieties with increased levels of bioavailable micronutrien...
Knowledge of the long-term complex relationship between soils, crops, and management practices, such as conservation agriculture, is critical in developing nutrient management strategies to optimise crop yields. This study examined the concentration,...
The present experiment addressed the effects of different iron (Fe) concentrations in the nutrient solution supplied as Fe-HBED, i.e., 0.02 (Fe0, control), 1.02 (Fe1), and 2.02 mmol L−1 (Fe2) on lettuce (‘Nauplus’ and ‘Romana&...
(1) Background: Although the effects of diets used worldwide, such as the Mediterranean diet, have been repeatedly studied, the effects of diet plans developed by national nutritionists are unknown. Our cross-sectional study aimed to assess the effec...
Feeding is indicative of the nutritional status of children, however micronutrient deficiency is common in this age group. We evaluated the impact of inclusion of rice (Ultra Rice® (UR®)) fortified with iron, zinc, thiamin and folic acid on laborator...
Next year (2017), the micronutrient Selenium (Se) is celebrating its birthday—i.e., 200 years after first being identified by the Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius. Despite its impressive age, research into the functions of this essential trace el...
Previous studies have attributed both phytotoxicity and the capacity to mobilize nutrient elements to the presence of polyphenols and melanoidins in spent coffee grounds (SCG) and SCG-hydrochars obtained through hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). This...
MTP/CDF carriers, called metal ion transport proteins, act as substrates for the transmission of micronutrients such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and manganese (Mn) to membrane carriers in plants. In this study, genome-wide analysis of the MTP gene famil...
Agronomic biofortification strategies have been used to increase selenium (Se) concentrations in edible parts, with broccoli cultivation showing high potential. Recent studies have demonstrated that prior application of selected elements during the s...
Nutrient-poor soils coupled with micronutrient deficiency among many rural resource-poor communities remain a challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. Nutrient-poor soils can be managed through various soil amendment or fertilisation strategies. Micronutrien...
Selenium (Se) is considered essential for human nutrition as it is involved in the metabolic pathway of selenoproteins and relevant biological functions. Microgreens, defined as tender immature greens, constitute an emerging functional food character...
Many African countries are endowed with rich biodiversity with enormous nutritional and economic prospects, but the majority of these resources are not fully harnessed. Exploring these neglected resources, for example, the Transvaal red milkwood tree...
The increasing micronutrient deficiency within the nutritional habits of the world’s population and the growing need for healthy foods have given rise to the development of biofortified crops. In a context where the consumer’s attention i...
Biofortification has emerged as an important approach for improving minerals and vitamin deficiencies through the application of agronomic and biotechnological methodologies. Vitamin A, one of the most deficient vitamins, disproportionately affects c...
Vitamin B12 is a critical nutrient in vegan and vegetarian lifestyles as plant-based vitamin sources are rare. Traditional fermented foods could be enriched by adding vitamin B12-producing bacteria to offer non-animal vitamin sources. The aim was to...
Inadequate intake of Fe and Zn is prevalent in a large part of the world’s population, and agronomic biofortification has been a strategy to improve the nutritional quality of food and, consequently, the nutrient intake by people. The objective...
Insufficient or suboptimal dietary intake of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) represent a latent health issue affecting a large proportion of the global population, particularly among young children and women living in poor regions at high risk of malnutritio...
The human body needs nutrients to maintain its regular physiological activity. It requires 40 essential nutrients, including macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Although macronutrient intake ha...
Dendrobium catenatum is a classical and precious dual-use plant for both medicine and food in China. It was first recorded in Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic, and has the traditional functions of nourishing yin, antipyresis, tonifying the stomach, a...
Micronutrient malnutrition is a global health challenge affecting almost half of the global population, causing poor physical and mental development of children and a wide range of illnesses. It is most prevalent in young girls, women, and pre-school...
The triple burden of malnutrition is identified with overnutrition, undernutrition and hidden hunger. Although global food production in terms of calories has kept pace with population growth, low-quality diets that lead to micronutrient deficiencies...
28 January 2021
Micronutrient malnutrition, also known as hidden hunger, continues to affect more than 2 billion people globally. Biofortification, which is a process of breeding staple crops with improved micronutrient contents such as vitamin A, iron, and zinc, of...
The estimated increase in world population will lead to a deterioration in global food security, aggravated in developing countries by hidden hunger resulting from protein deficiency. To reduce or avoid this crisis, a dietary shift towards the consum...
Hunger and malnutrition are key global challenges whose understanding is instrumental to their elimination, thus realization of important sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, understanding linkages between farm production diversity (FPD) an...
Our global food system is characterized by an increasing concentration and imbalance of power, with trade-offs between hunger, inequality, unsustainable production and consumption, and profit. A systematic analysis of power imbalances in food systems...
Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is one of the oldest domesticated crops used for both human and animal feed. Over the years however, its role in human diet has been very limited and replaced by the broad use of wheat products. Nowadays, micronutrient defici...
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