Bread wheat breeding for functional nutrition products

Abstract

In a world of rapid economic growth, food security from the point of view of the nutrition profile has become of increasing interest. The development of biofortified colored wheat (black, purple and blue) adds nutritional and functional health benefits to energy-rich wheat. Cultivars and lines of colored bread wheat with a high content of anthocyanins, iron and zinc exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and have desirable properties for production and commercial use. Anthocyanins contained in colored wheat have a wide range of health effects, such as protection from metabolic syndromes, obesity, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia. The idea of production anthocyanin-enriched wheat shapes people's way of life, as it is the main food crop in many countries. The achievements of breeding new high-quality productive varieties of cereals, with a large amount of antioxidants, allow them to be used to obtain a number of products for functional nutrition. The presented review is a compilation of currently available information about colored wheat in the most important aspects, including biochemistry, food industry, nutrition, genetics, selection and its influence on human health. Market formation and consumer awareness raising are vital tasks for its use as a functional food product on a large scale.