At a time when micro nutrition deficiency is slowly becoming rampant in both rural and urban areas, scientists at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) are looking for ways to make rice richer in zinc and iron. They have begun researching ways to bio-fortify the two minerals in rice, considered the staple food across South India. At least two varieties are likely to be readied for testing across the country this year.
TNAU's paddy breeding station has begun breeding a few new varieties of rice, which are expected to contain four to five times the normal content of iron and double the content of zinc. "Besides, starch, protein and vitamins, polished rice contains around 2 to 4 ppm (parts per million) of iron and 8 ppm of zinc," says professor and project director of Centre for Molecular Breeding, S Robin.
"We are targeting raising mineral content of polished rice to 10 to 12 ppm of iron and 24 ppm of zinc," he says. If they are successful, polished rice will contain more minerals than even what is found in brown rice currently-8 to 10 ppm of iron and 12 ppm of zinc.
Iron and zinc deficiencies in our diet can often cause a host of health complications like anemia, low immunity, hair fall, nail breakage and even mental lethargy. Though meat, especially sea food, is a rich source of zinc and iron, with a sizeable population in the region being vegetarian, mineral deficiencies are rampant say both endocrinologists and dermatologists.
"Iron deficiencies are more common than zinc, and is more common in women than men," says hematologist at Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, Dr Ramaprabhahari Satheshkumar. "It causes tiredness, dizziness and even palpitations".
"This is why we came up with the idea of fortifying rice, which is a staple food," said Robin. "And we decided to ensure that even milled rice will have these minerals, because most of the population consumes only milled rice, even though milling (polishing) removes most of its nutrients," he added.
The bio-fortification research, sponsored by the central government's department of biotechnology and Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) is being done in three steps.
First is to screen and identify traditional varieties rich in zinc and iron, study the genes responsible for the mineral content and then breeding them to create a new variety. "We studied and screened almost 200 varieties of rice last year," said Robin. "A majority of them from Tamil Nadu and a few from Orissa and Raipur," he said.
Scientists have identified a few genes, bred a few new varieties and have planted them within their premises. They hope to get at least two new varieties and send them for testing across the country. The other institutes part of the research are M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad and Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya at Raipur.
TNAU's paddy breeding station has begun breeding a few new varieties of rice, which are expected to contain four to five times the normal content of iron and double the content of zinc. "Besides, starch, protein and vitamins, polished rice contains around 2 to 4 ppm (parts per million) of iron and 8 ppm of zinc," says professor and project director of Centre for Molecular Breeding, S Robin.
"We are targeting raising mineral content of polished rice to 10 to 12 ppm of iron and 24 ppm of zinc," he says. If they are successful, polished rice will contain more minerals than even what is found in brown rice currently-8 to 10 ppm of iron and 12 ppm of zinc.
Iron and zinc deficiencies in our diet can often cause a host of health complications like anemia, low immunity, hair fall, nail breakage and even mental lethargy. Though meat, especially sea food, is a rich source of zinc and iron, with a sizeable population in the region being vegetarian, mineral deficiencies are rampant say both endocrinologists and dermatologists.
"Iron deficiencies are more common than zinc, and is more common in women than men," says hematologist at Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, Dr Ramaprabhahari Satheshkumar. "It causes tiredness, dizziness and even palpitations".
"This is why we came up with the idea of fortifying rice, which is a staple food," said Robin. "And we decided to ensure that even milled rice will have these minerals, because most of the population consumes only milled rice, even though milling (polishing) removes most of its nutrients," he added.
The bio-fortification research, sponsored by the central government's department of biotechnology and Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) is being done in three steps.
First is to screen and identify traditional varieties rich in zinc and iron, study the genes responsible for the mineral content and then breeding them to create a new variety. "We studied and screened almost 200 varieties of rice last year," said Robin. "A majority of them from Tamil Nadu and a few from Orissa and Raipur," he said.
Scientists have identified a few genes, bred a few new varieties and have planted them within their premises. They hope to get at least two new varieties and send them for testing across the country. The other institutes part of the research are M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad and Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya at Raipur.