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Genetically Modified Plants and Human Health

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June Antonella
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32 views3 pages

Genetically Modified Plants and Human Health

Uploaded by

June Antonella
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Genetically modified plants and human health

Plants with favourable characteristics have been produced for thousands of


years by conventional breeding methods. Transgenic (GM) plants are those that
have been genetically modified using recombinant DNA technology. This may be
to express a gene that is not native to the plant or to modify endogenous genes.
The protein encoded by the gene will confer a particular trait or characteristics to
the plant. The technology can also be used to improve the nutritional content of
the plant, an application that could be of particular use in the developing world.
New-generation GM crops are now also being developed for the production of
recombinant medicines and industrial products, such as monoclonal antibodies,
vaccines, plastic and biofuels. Food application for GM plants technologies are
one of a number of different approaches that are being developed to combat
these problems. Specifically, studies are under way to genetically modify plants to
increase crop yields, nor to directly improve nutritional content. Impressive
examples of a health solution that can be offered by plant biotechnology.
Increasing nutritional contents in the developed world the nutritional content of
food items is not of major concern, as individuals have access to a wide variety of
food that will meet all of their nutritional needs. In the developing world,
however, this is often not the case, with people often relying on a single staple
food crop for their energy intake. GM technology offers a way to alleviate some of
these problems by engineering plants to express additional products that can
combat malnutrition. An important example of the potential of this technology is
the “golden rice project” vitamin A deficiency is widespread in the developing
world and is estimated to account for the deaths of approximately 2 million
children per year.in surviving children it has been identified as the leading cause
of blindness. Humans can synthesize vitamin A from its precursor carotene, which
is commonly found in many plants but not in cereal grains. The strategy of the
golden rice project was to introduce the correct metabolic steps into rice
endosperm to allow carotene synthesis. Golden rice was developed for farmers in
the poorest countries, and from the beginning, the aim of the scientists was to
provide the technology free of charge, which required the negotiation of more
than 100 intellectual and technical property licenses. Golden rice will be given to
subsistence farmers with no additional conditions and is an impressive example of
a health solution that can be offered by plant biotechnology. Crop yield
worldwide are significantly reduced by the action of pat6hogens, parasites and
herbivorous insects. A primary cause of plant loss worldwide is abiotic stress,
particularly salinity, drought, and temperature extremes. GM crops are tightly
regulated by several government bodies. Foods derived from GM crops have been
consumed by hundreds of millions of people across the world for more than 15
years, with no reported ill effects or legal cases related to human health. There is
little documented evidence that GM crops are potentially toxic. A notorious study
claiming that rats fed with GM potatoes expressing the gene for the lectin
galanthus nivalis agglutinin suffered damage to gut mucosa was published after
one of the authors this apparent finding of television. There are also a number of
uses for plants outside of the food industry.

Summary
Genetically modified (or GM) plants have attracted a large amount of media
attention in recent years and continue to do so. Despite this, the general public
remains largely unaware of what a GM plant actually is or what advantages and
disadvantages the technology has to offer, particularly with regard to the range of
applications for which they can be used. From the first generation of GM crops,
two main areas of concern have emerged, namely risk to the environment and
risk to human health. As GM plants are gradually being introduced into the
European Union there is likely to be increasing public concern regarding potential
health issues. Although it is now commonplace for the press to adopt ‘health
campaigns’, the information they publish is often unreliable and unrepresentative
of the available scientific evidence. We consider it important that the medical
profession should be aware of the state of the art, and, as they are often the first
port of call for a concerned patient, be in a position to provide an informed
opinion.

This review will examine how GM plants may impact on human health both
directly – through applications targeted at nutrition and enhancement of
recombinant medicine production – but also indirectly, through potential effects
on the environment. Finally, it will examine the most important opposition
currently facing the worldwide adoption of this technology: public opinion.

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