Every year, millions of people across the world suffer of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies which are associated with different conditions such as anemia and stunting. Biofortification of staple crops like wheat has been found as an efficient and effective method to alleviate the problems associated with the deficiency of such micronutrients. Increasing the Fe and Zn concentration of wheat grains however, could be ineffective if during wheat processing the content and/or bioavailability of such components would be lost or diminished. For this reason, the objective of this project was to investigate the effect that different wheat processing methods would have on Fe and Zn retention and bioavailability (estimated through the analysis of phytic acid content) in a set of zinc enriched wheat lines.

In order to test this hypothesis, 60 biofortified bread wheat lines derived from the CIMMYT HarvestPlus program, have been milled at three different extraction rates (70%, 85%, and 100%) and processed into chapatis (unleavened flat bread) and pan-bread (leavened bread). The Fe, Zn and phytic acid content have been monitored across the production process of these two types of bread and the results obtained suggested that: (1) milling is the major factor influencing the variation of both Fe, Zn and phytic acid; (2) the pan-bread and chapati production process itself does not negatively affect Fe and Zn concentrations and (3) due to fermentation, the microelements present in bread are more available than those in chapatis. 

Results of this study confirm that biofortification is indeed an efficient method to increase Fe and Zn intake and that specific wheat processing techniques should be employed to maximize the consumption and bioavailability of such micronutrients.