Biofortified wheat to combat malnutrition: a game-changer for global health!
Biofortification is a way to make wheat more nutritious by increasing its mineral content. This helps combat malnutrition in people who rely on wheat as their main food. Scientists have been working on different methods to improve the zinc and iron levels in wheat. They have found wild relatives of wheat with higher mineral content and developed new wheat varieties with more zinc and iron. By using a gene called TaFer1-A, they were able to increase the iron content in wheat grains by 50% to 85%. This research shows progress in making wheat more nutritious, but there are still challenges to overcome.