Golden Rice Has Same Nutrients as Traditional Rice Except for the Increased Provitamin A Content

Compositional analysis of genetically engineered crops determines significant changes in nutrient composition as compared to its conventional counterpart. A article published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry presents the results of the compositional analysis of paddy rice, straw, and bran of biofortified rice (Golden Rice or GR2E) compared with samples of non-transgenic, near-isogenic, control rice (PSBRc82) planted over two growing seasons in the Philippines during 2015-2016 at four locations representing the different rice-growing conditions in the country.

The grain samples were analyzed for key nutritional components such as fiber, sugars, fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, proximates, and anti-nutrients. The results showed that the only biologically significant difference between Golden Rice and the conventional rice was the amount of beta carotene (vitamin A precursor) and other provitamin A carotenoids in the grain. The rest of the compositional parameters were found to be within the range of natural variability of conventional rice varieties with a history of safe consumption. The average concentration of provitamin A concentrations in milled Golden Rice can contribute up to 89-113% and 57-99% of the vitamin A requirement for pre-school children in Bangladesh and the Philippines, respectively.

Read the research article in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.