Analyzing Uptake of Micro-Nutrients by Micro-Greens from Novel Mineral-Fortified Fiber Mats: Case of Copper

Jacquelyn R. Nyenhuis, MS RD CDE¹ and Jaroslaw Drelich PhD²

¹Department of Nutritional Science

St. Catherine University

St. Paul, MN

²Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Michigan Technological University

Houghton, MI 49931

Adequate copper (Cu) and other micro-nutrients are essential to human development and overall health. The oxidative properties of Cu are thought to enhance the inflammatory response thereby having a role in coronary vascular disease (CVD), metabolic syndrome (MetS), diabetes and related complications. Importantly, existing data shows that while copper deficiency was rare in the past, micro-nutrient malnutrition affects a staggering half of the world’s population and trends such as a Westernized diet and popularity of gastric bypass surgery are correlated to impaired Cu status. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if food crops could be bio-fortified with micro-nutrients by growing micro-greens on mineral fortified fiber mats. Seeds commonly distributed commercially to grow micro-greens were germinated on engineered cellulose fiber mats that incorporated ~10 wt% clay fillers saturated with either copper nano-particles or ionic copper. After the appearance of the first set of full leaves, the micro-greens were dehydrated and analyzed for Cu content. Nutrient analysis showed 1.5 to 1.6 increase in Cu of the micro-greens grown on the fiber mats with copper nano-particles, and 2.3 to 2.5 increase on mats with ionic copper as compared to the control samples. The uptake, bio-fortification and risks of nano-materials are not well understood but the use of engineered mats might be a viable way to increase the micro-nutrient composition of  locally-grown food crops.