Compositional assessment of carotenoid biofortified rice using substantial equivalence

Abstract

One important aspect in assessing the safety of genetically modified (GM) crops for human consumption is
characterizing their nutrient composition. A β-carotene-biofortified rice was generated by inserting phytoene synthase
(Psy) and carotene desaturase (Crtl) genes isolated from Capsicum and Pantoea into the genome of a conventional
variety of rice (Nakdongbyeo). Nutrients (proximates, amino acids, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins), anti-nutritive
components (trypsin inhibitors and phytic acid), and ferulic acid in GM rice were compared with those in the parent line
Nakdongbyeo. Statistical comparisons to test for equivalence showed that all of the analyzed components in the GM
plants were equivalent to those in its non-transgenic counterpart, and most nutritional components fell within the
range of values reported for other commercial lines, indicating the safety of the GM plant.