Nippon Paper Begins Test Farming Rice That Alleviates Hay Fever

Nippon Paper Group has started test farming a rice which could alleviate hay-fever symptoms. The rice was specially developed using the MAT vector system, a biotechnology for genetically extracting certain genomes, in this case an epitope in the rice. The epitope will act as a vaccine for hay-fever, so people who eat it will experience fewer hay-fever symptoms when the season arrives.

Nippon Paper will set up a large greenhouse of 500 square meters on the island of Komatsu. With proper light and temperature control, the greenhouse will yield 700 kilograms of rice annually.

The project was commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.

By Chris Lui, JCN Staff Writer

Copyright © 2006 JCN. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network KK.

JCN