Edible vaccine: The future of immunization through genetically engineered vegetables

Edible vaccines are created by introducing the desired gene into a plant to manufacture the encoded protein. The coat protein of a specific virus or bacteria that has no pathogenicity is used for transformation. The various transformation techniques used for plant, algal and bacterial vaccine carriers. Edible vaccines can be very easily scaled up. For example, the entire population of India could be vaccinated by producing edible vaccines in just 30 hectares of land. Vegetables that as used as a Candidate Plant for production of Edible Vaccine are Potato, Tomato, Lettuce, Spinach, Carrot, Amaranthus etc. Many clinicals trials are ongoing to develop edible vaccine for commercial use in market. Edible vaccines are much safer and cheaper alternatives to traditional vaccines. As any edible plant/algae, they can make scaling up so much easier. The problem with edible vaccines is the notion that genetically modified crops are bad, which prevails in many developing nations. With the ever growing and evolving technologies, genetically modified crops are getting safer than ever. Thirty million children throughout the world do not receive even the most basic immunizations each year. As a result, at least three million of these children die from diseases that are fully vaccine preventable. The solution to vaccinate these children might seem simple with the idea of large-scale production of edible vaccines for various diseases. There is a need to develop and scale the simple procedures for downstream processing and formulation for plant-based vaccines. Edible vaccines are likely to be used in third world countries where it saves transportation costs, avoids refrigeration and administrations orally without needle use.