Application of nuclear techniques to improve and evaluate nutritional and health benefits of underutilised crops

Malnutrition remains a big problem worldwide especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). The main manifestations are growth retardation which currently affects about 150 million children below 5 years; and micronutrient deficiencies (hidden hunger) which are ubiquitous, with serious health consequences, especially among children and women of reproductive age worldwide. A combination of factors including rapid population growth, climate change, diminishing arable land size, reduced soil fertility and water scarcity are associated with decreased food production and ultimately increased food insecurity and malnutrition. Diversifying the production and consumption of underutilised crops has been identified as a potential solution to improved nutrition and household food security especially in LMICs. Underutilised crops can be used to enhance dietary diversity and agro-biodiversity at field or home garden levels; they can grow under relatively harsh conditions and often have higher concentration of much needed nutrients, including protein, vitamins, and minerals. Plant breeding based on induced genetic diversity has been used for the improvement of several traits over the last few decades, Mutation, which is a heritable change in the genetic material of a living organism can lead to the creation of new germplasms which can be subsequently selected for better traits such as yield, resistance to disease and pest, tolerance to abiotic stresses, nutritional quality, and preferred end-user characters. The health and nutritional benefits of most nutrient-enhanced underutilised crop varieties by mutation induction have not been evaluated adequately. The CRP main objective is to support Member States in evaluating the health and nutritional outcomes associated with the consumption of nutrient-rich underutilised crops developed through nuclear techniques (mutation induction). This will be achieved through the use of gamma-rays and X-rays to safely induce genetic diversity in targeted underutilized crops. Additionally, nutritional related stable isotope techniques will be deployed to assess micronutrient and macronutrient bioavailability (e.g. iron, zinc, provitamin A, amino acids) and the efficacy of improved foods on nutritional outcomes such as body composition and vitamin A status.?
Specific objectives:
- To document existing improved underutilised crops that are of nutritional importance, their production, utilization pattern, etc.
- To develop a pipeline for the improvement of at least three underutilised crops using induced genetic variation.
- To profile the nutritional and anti-nutrient composition of existing and new underutilised mutant crop varieties
- To assess consumption patterns and acceptability of food recipes based on underutilised crops in various contexts.
- To characterize existing and newly developed underutilised mutant crops for nutrient bioavailability (including iron, zinc, provitamin A, essential amino acids, calcium).
- To conduct studies on the efficacy of nutrient-dense underutilised foods on nutritional outcomes (including vitamin A status, growth, body composition, gut function, cognition).
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