Progress of vitamin E metabolic engineering in plants

Transgenic Res. 2006 Dec;15(6):655-65. doi: 10.1007/s11248-006-9012-8. Epub 2006 Oct 27.

Abstract

Vitamin E is important for human and animal health. Many human diseases, such as certain cancers and neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disease, are associated with the insufficient intake of vitamin E. The daily requirements for vitamin E in men and women have been increased to 15-30 mg. Because the primary source of dietary vitamin E comes from plants, there is a need to increase vitamin E production through plant engineering in order to meet the demand in human consumption. Numerous studies have been carried out in this field, leading to many successful examples. In this review, we summarized the recent progress in vitamin E metabolic engineering in plants aimed at improving the vitamin E content and regulating composition of vitamin E.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Genetic Engineering
  • Metabolic Networks and Pathways / genetics*
  • Plants, Genetically Modified / metabolism*
  • Vitamin E / biosynthesis
  • Vitamin E / metabolism*
  • alpha-Tocopherol / metabolism

Substances

  • Vitamin E
  • alpha-Tocopherol