Historical shifting in grain mineral density of landmark rice and wheat cultivars released over the past 50 years in India

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 21164
• Main Authors: Debnath, Sovan, Dey, Ahana, Khanam, Rubina, Saha, Susmit, Sarkar, Dibyendu, Saha, Jayanta K., Coumar, Mounissamy V., Patra, Bhaskar C., Biswas, Tufleuddin, Ray, Mrinmoy, Radhika, Madhari S., Mandal, Biswapati
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 30-11-2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/449; 631/45/321; 692/700/478; 704/158/2456; 704/844/685; Cultivars; Diet; Edible Grain - chemistry; Grain; Green revolution; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Iron - analysis; Iron deficiency; Minerals; multidisciplinary; Nutrient deficiency; Nutrients; Oryza; Plant Breeding; Rice; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Triticum; Wheat; India
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48488-5

The ‘Green Revolution (GR)’ has been successful in meeting food sufficiency in India, but compromising its nutritional security. In a first, we report altered grain nutrients profile of modern-bred rice and wheat cultivars diminishing their mineral dietary significance to the Indian population. To substantiate, we evaluated grain nutrients profile of historical landmark high-yielding cultivars of rice and wheat released in succeeding decades since the GR and its impacts on mineral diet quality and human health, with a prediction for decades ahead. Analysis of grain nutrients profile shows a downward trend in concentrations of essential and beneficial elements, but an upward in toxic elements in past 50 y in both rice and wheat. For example, zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) concentration in grains of rice decreased by ~ 33.0 (
P
 < 0.001) and 27.0% (
P
 < 0.0001); while for wheat it decreased by ~ 30.0 (
P
 < 0.0001) and 19.0% (
P
 < 0.0001) in past more than 50 y, respectively. A proposed mineral-diet quality index (M-DQI) significantly (
P
 < 0.0001) decreased ~ 57.0 and 36.0% in the reported time span (1960–2010) in rice and wheat, respectively. The impoverished M-DQI could impose hostile effects on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like iron-deficiency anemia, respiratory, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal among the Indian population by 2040. Our research calls for an urgency of grain nutrients profiling before releasing a cultivar of staples like rice and wheat in the future.