Agronomic Biofortification of Vegetable Crops–A Systematic Review

Abstract

Mineral deficiency is prevalent in the diets of more than two-thirds of the world’s population. This problem can be solved by diversifying the diet, supplementing minerals, enriching foods or increasing the concentration and/or bioavailability of essential mineral elements in products (i.e., biofortification). Vegetables represent the backbone of good nutrition as they are a rich source of dietary fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and biofortification is a promising method of increasing the content of these compounds in vegetables. Given the significance of minerals in human diet and metabolism, the possibility of adding minerals to fresh vegetables through the use of specific agronomic methods has been considered. This review thoroughly examines the most recent research on agronomic biofortification of vegetable crops, with an aim of increasing the content of important micronutrients, such as iron, zinc, molybdenum and copper, in the edible parts, with an emphasis on the effects of this strategy. Although agronomic biofortification is considered a practicable technique, the approach is multifaceted due to several interactions occurring at the crop level, as well as the bioavailability of different minerals to plants and consumers.