A GM carrot that helps people absorb more calcium has been produced to prevent brittle bone disease.
The carrot, which was developed by researchers at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, has been altered to make higher amounts of a protein that helps transport calcium.
The results of trials on 15 men and 15 women, conducted with Baylor College of Medicine to see if the carrot could prevent osteoporosis, were reported this week.
Those who ate the fortified sCAX1 carrot showed a net increase in calcium absorbtion.
Dr Jay Morris, lead author of the study, said: “If you eat a serving of the modified carrot, you would absorb 41 per cent more calcium than a regular carrot.
“Fruit and vegetables are good for you for many reasons, but they have not been a good source of calcium in the past.”
But the technology would need to available in a wider range of fruit and vegetables so that people can get the calcium benefit, he added. “We believe that if this technology is applied to a large number of different fruits and vegetables, that would have an even greater impact on preventing osteoporosis,” he said.
There is no date for when the carrot will hit the shelves in the US.
“There are still some safety issues to address,” Morris said. “The carrots have been grown in very specific, controlled environments, so how they grow and perform in real world field trials needs to be studied.
“We are currently working on answering those safety issues and once answered then a better time line will be known.”
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