Iodine sequestration by amylose to combat iodine deficiency disorders

We hypothesize that amylose is an important in planta sink for iodine. Moreover, starch with greater amylose content could be capable of sequestering higher levels of this important micronutrient. Diets low in iodine can result in goitre, cretinism and a host of other serious medical conditions. Since nearly two billion people worldwide still receive insufficient dietary iodine despite salt iodisation programmes, iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) constitute a serious global health issue in need of innovative solutions strengthened by interdisciplinary systems approaches ( Bouis and Welch, 2010 and World Health Organisation, 2007). Iodine can be sequestered within the helical V-amylose component of starch in the form of polyiodide chains (Yu, Houtman, & Atalla, 1996). We argue that stable iodine complexation in high-amylose staple crops could contribute an invaluable and critical biofortification tactic to prevent IDD.