Transgenic tomato fruit expressing VP1 protein was then used as an oral vaccine, and the development of VP1-specific fecal IgA and serum IgG were observed in BALB/c mice. Additionally, serum from mice fed transgenic tomato could neutralize the infection of EV71 to rhabdomyosarcoma cells, indicating that tomato fruit expressing VP1was successful in orally immunizing mice. Moreover, the proliferation of spleen cells from orally immunized mice was stimulated by VP1 protein and provided further evidence of both humoral and cellular immunity. Results of this study not only demonstrated the feasibility of using transgenic tomato as an oral vaccine to generate protective immunity in mice against EV71 but also the probability of enterovirus vaccine development. The Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis causes plague, which has affected human health since ancient times. It is still endemic in Africa, Asia, and the American continent. There is the urgent need for a safeand cheap vaccine due to the increasing reports of the incidence of antibiotic-resistant strains and concern with the use of Y. pestis as an agent of biological warfare. Out of all the Y. pestis antigens tested, only F1 and Vinduce a good protective immune response against a challenge with the bacterium. Alvarez, et al. reported the expression in tomato of the Y. pestis F1-Vantigen fusion protein. The immunogenicity of the F1-V transgenic tomatoes was confirmed in mice that were injected subcutaneously with bacterially produced F1-V fusion protein and boosted orally with transgenic tomato fruit.

Expression of the plague antigens in the tomato fruit allowed producing an oral vaccine candidate without protein purification and with minimal processing technology, offering a good system for a largescale vaccination programs in developing countries. The future of edible plant-based vaccines through transgenic approaches will depend on producing them safely on sufficient amounts. As described consumers could benefit from improved access to more nutritious transgenic vegetables and enhanced food safety through transgenic approaches. However, transgenic crop technology for horticulture remains still in its infancy for several reasons. Vegetables are considered minor crops. Consequently, fewer resources are allocated to transgenic research of horticultural crops compared to field crops, especially by the multinational private seed corporations. While it is becoming less expensive to create transgenic crops,flood and drain table developing a marketable product and responding to the regulatory requirements remains very costly. Development and regulatory costs can be recouped more readily if the product is grown on an extensive area, which is generally not the case for individual vegetable crops. For this reason, most large multinational seed corporations have abandoned the development of transgenic vegetable crops. Generally there are many cultivars of the same vegetable species on the market and the life span of an individual cultivar can be quite short. Introducing a transgene into a breeding program can be complicated and cost prohibitive, especially in crops with difficulty for using backcrossing.For many vegetable species it is not possible to develop a single transgenic event that can be converted into many different cultivars of a single or closely related group of vegetable species through conventional breeding. For example, Brassica contains about 40 closely related commercialized crops, including cabbage , cauliflower , broccoli , Brussels sprouts , turnip , broccoletto , Chinese cabbage , pak-choy , choysum , swede or rutabaga , vegetable rape , and various mustards . No single parent exists that can be used to backcross the transgene into the many different types of Brassica botanical varieties and subspecies. Individual events would have to be developed for many of the crop types, and deregulation of more than one event for a single protein is problematic for most business models. Because of the regulatory costs currently involved with GM vegetable crops, it is difficult for either the public or private sector to develop novel products specifically for small vegetable markets, including specialty vegetable crops in the developed and developing world and almost any crop in countries with relatively small agricultural sectors.

For the few transgenic vegetable crops that are being developed, novel or unconventional strategies have been employed to bring the crops to markets, e.g. private-public partnerships in which the private sector would focus on selling hybrids to higher-end growers while the public sector would focus on low-resource farmers. Although transgenic cultivars have proven to be a powerful tool for nutritional health benefits, many countries are still engaged in discussions about their potential food safety. Consumer antagonism has precluded many farmers and other end users from sharing the benefits that these crops provide. Transgenic crops must pass a rigorous assessment for potential risks based on scientific data. The objective of this appraisal is to determine whether the transgenic crop is as safe as its conventional counterpart without transgenic modification. For this purpose, scientific data have to be produced to demonstrate that transgenic plants are safe for the environment and do not impose any health hazard for the consumers. In the USA, the process of deregulation is an interactive process between the industry, government agencies and any other stakeholder that feels concerned, where the industry has to provide scientific evidence as requested by the government agency to prove that there is no reasonable doubt on the safety of the transgenic crop. The World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Royal Society of London, the US National Academy of Sciences, the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy, the Mexican Academy of Sciences and the Third World Academy of Sciences, the American College of Nutrition, the Society of Toxicology, the British Medical Association, and the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities, among others, have stated that GM crops approved for commercialization, do not pose more risk to human health than conventional crops, and they should be considered as safe as conventional ones. The world has witnessed a steady increase of transgenic crop area in the last 1.5 decades. Extensive research has produced no evidence that transgenic crops approved by the authorities impose a greater risk to human and animal health than conventional crops. The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety of Germany and partners issued the report “Biological and Ecological Evaluation towards Long-term Effects”  with the aim of providing scientific data to the European Commission. The BEETLE report reviewed in excess of 100 publications and consulted 52 experts in health issues to assess the possible long-term effect of GM crops on the health of consumers and the environment. This report concluded that so far no adverse effects to human health from eating GM food have been found.

The report further stated that although unexpected negative effects are known in conventional crops, none has yet been detected in GM crops. The report concludes that there is a negligible probability for adverse effects to consumers’ health in the long term. Vegetables make up a major portion of the diet of humans in many parts of the world and play a significant role in human nutrition, especially as sources of phytonutriceuticals: vitamins , minerals, dietary fiber and phytochemicals. Some phytochemicals of vegetables are strong antioxidants and are thought to reduce the risk of chronic disease by protecting against free-radical damage, by modifying metabolic activation and detoxification of carcinogens, or even influencing processes that alter the course of tumor cells. Vegetables in the daily diet have been strongly associated with overall good health,rolling bench improvement of gastrointestinal health and vision, reduced risk for some forms of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, anaemia, gastric ulcer, rheumatoid arthritis, and other chronic diseases. A high vegetable diet has been associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease in humans. Low vegetable intake, in unbalanced diets, has been estimated to cause about 31% of ischaemic heart disease and 11% of stroke worldwide. According to the 2007 World Health Report unbalanced diets with low vegetable intake and low consumption of complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber are estimated to cause some 2.7 million deaths each year, and were among the top 10 risk factors contributing to mortality. The exact mechanisms by which vegetable consumption reduces human diseases have not yet been fully understood, however the general consensus among physicians and nutritionists is that phytonutriceuticals in vegetables are responsible for mitigating some of these diseases. A world vegetable survey showed that 402 vegetable crops are cultivated worldwide, representing 69 families and 230 genera. Leafy vegetables—of which the leaves or young leafy shoots are consumed—were the most often utilized , followed by vegetable fruits , and vegetables with below ground edible organs comprised 17%. Many vegetable crops have more than one part used. Most of the vegetables are marketed fresh with only a small proportion processed because most vegetables are perishable. Consumption shortly after harvest guarantees optimal vegetable quality. Nutrition is both a quantity and a quality issue, and vegetables in all their many forms ensure an adequate intake of most vitamins and nutrients, dietary fibers, and phytochemicals which can bring a much-needed measure of balance back to diets contributing to solve many of these nutrition problems.

Only 67  of commercial vegetables have attracted investments for crop breeding by multinational seed corporations, due to their large area of production and substantial consumption, 52  vegetables were considered minor, and other 87  species were considered rare. In 2010 the global vegetable seed market was estimated at US $4.1 billion, of which 36% were for solanaceous, 21% for cucurbits, 13% for roots and bulbs, 12% for large seed, 11% for brassicas, and 7% for leafy and others vegetables. Global commercial vegetable seed sales had an annual growth rate of 5.8% in the last decade. With the increase in world population and consumption the global market of vegetable seeds is expected to expand in future years. The promotion of healthy vegetable products has coincided with a surging consumer interested in the healthy functionality of food. There is an increasing awareness among the general public of the advantages of diets rich in vegetables to ensure an adequate intake of most vitamins and micronutrients, dietary fibers, and phytochemicals that promote health. Consumers interest in whole foods with enhanced nutitional qualities is at an all-time high, and more consumers are choosing foods on the basis of their healthy benefits. This article makes a review and discusses the nutritional quality and health benefits of the major groups of vegetables. There are a general belief among nutritionists and health profissionals that the health benefit of vegetables should not be linked to only one compound or one type of vegetable, but rather a balanced diet that includes more than one type of vegetable is likely to provide better protection. All the vegetables may offer protection to humans against chronic diseases. Whith the exception of glucosinolates and thiosulfides, which are unique to the crucifers and alliums, the phytonutriceuticals content of a number of other vegetales consist primarily of vitamin C, fiber, selenium, folate and polyphenolics . The main difference is that each vegetable group contains a unique combination and amount of these phytonutriceuticals, which distinguishes them from other groups and vegetables whithin their own group. For example the Apiaceae family  is rich in flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Celery and parsley for example are among the best vegetables sources for the flavonoid apigenin and vitamin E, and carrots have an unique combination of three flavonoids: kaempferol, quercetin, and luteolin. In carrot, overall carotenoid levels, have increased dramaticaly in the past four decades through traditional breeding to reach levels of 1000 ppm carotenoids, on a fresh weight basis. The Asteraceae or Compositae family  is rich in conjugated quercetin, flavonoids, and tocopherols. Crozier et al. observed sizeable variations in flavonol content were also observed with lettuce cultivars by these authors. The commonly consumed small “round” lettuce contained only 11 µg/g fresh weight of quercetin, and the levels in “iceberg” lettuce were even lower. In contrast, the outer leaves of “Lollo Rosso”, a red cultivar of lettuce, contained 911 µg/g. The red color of this lettuce is due to high levels of anthocyanins, which like quercetin, are products of the phenylpropanoid pathway.