GM Carrots May Help Prevent Osteoporosis

A genetically modified carrot that provides more calcium has been developed by scientists at the Children’s Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas. Kendal Hirschi and colleagues boosted calcium levels by inducing carrots to express increased levels of sCAX1, a gene from the model plant Arabidopsis that encodes a calcium transporter. Most plant-derived foods are not good providers of calcium, which is a key component for healthy bones. Inadequate dietary calcium is a global problem, particularly in regions that don’t have access to dairy products or where large segments of the population are lactose intolerant. Insufficient intake of calcium may lead to osteoporosis.

The modified carrots contain elevated calcium levels, but can the body use it? To determine the bioavailability of the calcium in the GM carrots, 30 volunteers—15 females and 15 males of various ethnic backgrounds and in their early to late 20s—ate single meals containing regular or modified carrots, which were labeled with a stable calcium isotope. The researchers found that the calcium intake of volunteers who consumed the modified carrots for two weeks increased by 41 percent, compared to those who ate regular carrots.

Hirschi and colleagues hope that this will be the first in a new-generation of fruits and vegetables with enhanced calcium content.

Read the full story at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/nov08/carrots1108.htm The paper published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0709005105