Mexico successfully crossbred a new bean variety rich in folic acid.

On October 20, Mexico's Monterrey Institute of Technology announced that, in cooperation with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), scientists had used genetic engineering to create a new bean variety with a folic acid (vitamin B9) content 84 times higher than that of regular beans.

Illustration photo. (Source: businessinsider.com)

Nutrition experts say that after cooking, the amount of vitamins in this genetically modified bean is more than 328 micrograms, much higher than the 81 micrograms of regular beans.

Thus, 100 grams of regular beans (cooked) can only meet 20% of the vitamin B9 that the human body needs in a day, while the same amount of new beans solves up to 82% of the human body's needs.

After years of research, scientists relied on the strengths of three beans currently highly valued in Mexico, including Pinto Saltillo, Pinto Durango and Pinto Café.

Then the Arabisdopsis Thaliana plant was genetically engineered to produce the molecule that produces folic acid.

Ultimately, the pinto Durango bean turned out to be the best. This idea was realized after Embrapa successfully bred a lettuce variety with 15 times more folic acid than regular lettuce.

Beans are considered a staple food in Latin America, especially in Brazil, Mexico and Central American countries.

This is a food rich in folic acid which is beneficial for human health, contributing to the synthesis and regeneration of DNA, cells and the production of new proteins./.

According to Vietnam+