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Review
. 2021 Aug 23:12:668819.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.668819. eCollection 2021.

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) and Micronutrient Fortification in Food Crops Using Nanoparticle Technology

Affiliations
Review

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) and Micronutrient Fortification in Food Crops Using Nanoparticle Technology

Soojin Oh et al. Front Plant Sci. .

Abstract

It is necessary to develop a resilient food supply that will withstand unexpected future shocks and deliver the required amounts of nutrients to consumers. By increasing the sustainability of food and agriculture, the food system will be able to handle challenges such as climate change, declining agricultural resources, growing population/urbanization, pandemics, and recessions/shortages. Micronutrient deficiency, otherwise called hidden hunger, is one of the major malnutrition consequences worldwide, particularly in middle- or low- income countries. Unlike essential mineral or nutrient compounds, micronutrients could be less of a priority due to their small levels of requirement. However, insufficient micronutrients caused critical adverse health symptoms and are excessively vital for young children's development. Therefore, there have been numerous attempts to enhance minerals and nutrients in food crops, including biofortification, food fortification, and supplementation. Based on several interventions involving micronutrients, modern technology, such as nanotechnology, can be applied to enhance sustainability and to reduce the food system's environmental impact. Previous studies have addressed various strategies or interventions to mitigate major micronutrient deficiency including iron, iodine, zinc, and vitamin A. Comparably small amounts of studies have addressed vitamin B12 deficiency and its fortification in food crops. Vitamin B12 deficiency causes serious adverse health effects, including in the nervous or blood systems, and occurs along with other micronutrient deficiencies, such as folate, iron, and zinc, worldwide, particularly in middle- and low-income countries. Mitigation for B12 deficiency has mainly focused on developing pharmacological and medical treatments such as vitamin B12 serum or supplements. Further studies are required to undertake a sustainable approach to fortify vitamin B12 in plant-based food sources for public health worldwide. This review paper highlights nanoparticle application as a promising technology for enhancing vitamin B12 without conventional genetic modification requirements. The nanoparticle can efficiently deliver the mineral/nutrient using coating techniques to targeted sites into the plant. This is mainly because nanoparticles have better solubility and permeability due to their nano size with high surface exposure. Vitamin B12-coated nanoparticles would be absorbed, translocated, and accumulated by the plant and eventually enhance the bioavailability in food crops. Furthermore, by reducing adverse environmental effects, such as leaching issues that mainly occur with conventional fertilizer usage, it would be possible to develop more sustainable food fortification.

Keywords: biofortification; cobalamin (Cbl); food fortification; nanoparticle; vitamin B12; vitamin B12 deficiency.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Gastrointestinal metabolisms and enterohepatic circulation of vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) (Modified from Andrès et al., 2004; Stabler, 2013; Hunt et al., 2014; Green et al., 2017; Brito et al., 2018). (A) Dietary vitamin B12 attach to dietary animal protein produced from salivary gland. (B) Following food-cobalamin intake, dietary protein is released by acidic environment of the stomach via proteolysis, and vitamin B12 binds to haptocorrin (R-protein) which secreted by salivary glands protecting vitamin B12 from acid degradation. Pepsin and hydrochloric acid (HCl) from gastric secretion. In stomach, Intrinsic factor (IF) is also secreted, and it binds less strongly when gastric R-protein presents. In duodenum, hatocorrin degradation occurs and the pH is changed in favor of vitamin B12 binding to IF. Pancreatic enzymes degrade dietary vitamin B12 and haptocorrin complex to release free vitamin B12. Then free vitamin B12 binds to IF and vitamin B12 -IF complex transport to ileum. (C) In ileum, IF-vitamin B12 complex binds/enters to the cubam receptor which consists of cubilin. Cubam receptor mediates endocytosis of IF- vitamin B12 complex. After the IF and vitamin B12 detaches, vitamin B12 binds to transport proteins transcobalamin I, II, and III. Transcobalamin II (TCII) involves transportation of B12 to all cells in the human body. Vitamin B12 is consequently transported via the portal system. (D) TCII- vitamin B12 complex is absorbed by endocytosis and free vitamin B12 is enzymatically converted into its two coenzymatic forms including methyl-cobalamin (Me-Cbl) and adenosyl-cobalamin (Ado-Cbl). Most of vitamin B12 stored in the river and some of vitamin B12 is secreted in bile, which undergoes enterohepatic circulation.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Vitamin B12/Iron deficiency: Anemia prevalence in children worldwide (Source: WorldBank; Ritchie and Roser, 2017). (A) Vitamin B12 /Iron deficiency: anemia prevalence in children worldwide, 2016| Anemia (B12/Fe deficiency) in children under five predominantly occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa regions with average 60% (28.8–86.2%) and Southern Asia 55% (16.9–83.5%) in 2016. The prevalence of anemia occurs less in North America (8.5–9.4%), Europe (12.1–27.1%), Central, East Asia (12.3–21.4%), and Oceania (13–48.4%). Prevalence of anemia relatively correlate to the values of gross domestic product (GDP). (B) Vitamin B12 /Iron deficiency: anemia prevalence in children worldwide, 1990 to 2016 | Prevalence of anemia (vitamin B12 /Fe deficiency) has been decreasing worldwide from 1990 to 2016 on average from 51 to 42%. However, it is still a significant issue in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, who have approximately 60 and 55.1% respectively in 2016.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Vitamin B12/Iron deficiency: Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age worldwide (Source: WorldBank; Ritchie and Roser, 2017). (A) Vitamin B12/Iron deficiency: anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age worldwide, 2016. Anemia (vitamin B12/Fe deficiency) in women of reproductive age (aged between 15 and 49) mainly occurs in South Asia (24.2–69.6%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (23.2–59.1%), and Middle East and North Africa regions (23.4–49.5%). In particular, Yemen shows the highest rate with 69.6%. The prevalence of anemia in reproductive aged women occurs in comparatively low numbers in North America (9.5–14.6%), Latin America, the Caribbean (18.5–30.2%), Europe, and Eastern Asia (15.7–26.4%). (B) Vitamin B12 /Iron deficiency: anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age worldwide, 1990 to 2016. Prevalence of anemia (Vitamin B12/Fe deficiency) has been decreased worldwide from 1990 to 2016 (39.60% to 34.23%). However, it slightly increased in several regions from 2013 to 2016 mainly in East and Central Asia, Pacific and Europe regions.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Nanoparticle uptake and translocation in living plant: pathway of foliar spray and root application (modified from Pérez-de-Luque, 2017). (A) Root application: uptake and translocate. There are two pathways for uptake and transport of nanoparticles once the nanoparticles traverse the root hair: apoplastic pathway and symplastic pathway. (B) Foliar application: uptake and translocate. Nanoparticle can be applied via foliar spraying method allowing to uptake and accumulate the nanoparticle into leaves efficiently. (C) Apoplastic and symplastic pathway. When nanoparticles approach the root epidermis, two major pathways have been previously investigated: apoplast and symplast pathway. These allow the translocation of nanoparticles towards non-photosynthetic tissues and organs.

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