engleski

The potential of barley for biofortification

More than two billion people are exposed to malnutrition, with the lack of zinc being the general problem and the lack of selenium a regional problem. Therefore, 36 barley genotypes were grown in a field experiment with biofortification by 5 or 10 g/ha of foliarly applied selenium. The average protein concentration in whole grain flour without selenium application was 9.14% (range 7.95 - 10.05%) and the zinc concentration was 16.71 to 21.90 mg kg-1 (19.17 on average). The analysed genotypes differ significantly in zinc concentrations, irrespective of the selenium application. In addition, the genotypes differed significantly in terms of protein content and selenium concentrations, and the highest variability was determined after biofortification with a higher dose of selenium. The selenium concentration in barley grains without Se application was very low, just 45 μg/kg on average, but the foliar application of 5 and 10 g Se/ha significantly increased the Se in the grain to 178 and 299 μg/kg on average, which are 4 and 6.6 times higher Se concentrations. Moreover, there were significant differences in genotypes regarding the increase in Se concentrations, from 177 to 511 μg/kg after the application of a higher Se dose. At the same time, biofortification with selenium did not affect zinc concentration, but it had a very significant effect on the protein concentration, with the lowest protein content being in the control treatment without selenium. Considering the average Se concentrations in whole grain barley flour, 1.22 kg of regular flour would be needed for the intake of 55 μg of Se as a mean daily recommendation, but just 309 or 184 g of flour biofortified with a lower or a higher Se dose would be enough. These facts and the specificity of barley genotypes indicate the high potential of barley for biofortification.

zinc, selenium, malnutrition, protein, flour

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