Designer crop-based foods and their potential human health synergies: An overview

During the past decade the knowledge of dietary influence on health and wellbeing has amply been increased and often related to some food components. To ameliorate specific nutritional disorders, designer foods have been ad vented way back in 1980.Designer foods are the processed or fortified foods with potential health promoting food ingredients, which are normal foods consumed daily. The designer food approach is one of the best and low-cost strategies to reduce micronutrient deficiencies among people, because it can deliver recommended allowances of nutrients regularly. These foods are developed by the process of fortification or bio-fortification. The demand, regulatory status and the potential health benefits in alleviating life style and chronic disorders with designercrop-based foods are reviewed in this communication. In developed and developing countries, the designer foods played a major role in improving the diet and eliminating life style and chronic disorders and nutrient deficiencies among people. Designer oils fortified with omega 3-n long chain PUFA are produced by bio-technological methods like transgenic plants have health value. Designer rape seed oil and sunflower oil can alleviate lipid profiles in hyper tension and obesity patients. Designer vegetables like broccoli sprouts and cereals like fermented rice with monascus have reported to have antioxidant and immune- modulator activity in diabetes and hyper cholesterol patients. Cereals like rice, maize, wheat etc are fortified with beta carotene (Golden rice), iron, zinc, lysine and tryptophan as fortified foods are developed and available now in the market. Polyphenol fortified rich foods like tea are proved to have potential health benefits. As of now, designer foods are completely safe but fortification or bio-fortification should be done rationally at less than one third of the total recommended daily allowances of nutrients and they should be strictly regulated with stringent quality control measures to ensure safety and acceptance before releasing into the market. Ultimate success of designer foods depends on creating adequate awareness among people about their health benefits through national and international programs as well.