Novel Approach to Produce Biofortified Flour

A novel approach combining plant breeding and high-intensity x-rays is being used by scientists at the Rothamsted Research in the United Kingdom to explore the possibility of developing wheat which could be used to make mineral enriched flour. Andrew Neal and colleagues are using high powered x-rays to carry out fluorescence analysis in favor of traditional staining techniques to identify new wheat varieties with added health benefits. The team exposes wheat grains to microfocussed high intensity x-rays. Characteristic fluorescence x-rays are emitted as the x-rays encounter different minerals. Scanning across the energy range of fluorescent x-rays shows a great deal about the properties of the grains including where and how much of each mineral is present, and how each mineral is complexed within the various regions of the grain.

"It is certainly 'early days' for this approach, but already we are showing that we can screen-out unsuitable lines early on, preventing breeders wasting investment in them and we are able to view wheat grains in a whole new way. I am hopeful this new approach has real promise to aid nutritious grain development and help answer some of the pressing issues on providing more nutritious food from limited productive farmland to feed our increasingly growing population," Neal said. Neal and colleagues' work is being funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Visit http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/media/releases/2010/100121-xray-vision-nutritious-flour.html for the original story.