Effect of agronomically biofortified zinc flour on zinc and selenium status in resource poor settings; a randomised control trial

The aim of this randomised control parallel-group pilot trial was to examine the impact of consuming flour made from selectively bred and agronomically biofortified wheat grain (zincol/NR-421, HarvestPlus) on zinc and selenium status using plasma zinc and selenium concentrations as biomarkers of status. Plasma zinc and selenium concentration (Jobin-Yvon JY-24 Atomic Emission Spectrophotometer; ICA, Middlesex, UK), haemoglobin, haematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (Abbott® Cell-Dyn Emerald haemotology analyzer), and 24-hour dietary recall (Windiet 2005 software) were measured before and after the intervention. [...]crop breeding coupled with agronomic biofortification of wheat with zinc may be an effective way to address zinc deficiency in resource poor settings with beneficial effects on plasma Selenium.