New Uses for Traditional Crops: The Case of Barley Biofortification

Abstract

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is one of the oldest domesticated crops used for both human and animal feed. Over the years however, its role in human diet has been very limited and replaced by the broad use of wheat products. Nowadays, micronutrient deficiency, also known as hidden hunger, is one of the major challenges to human health worldwide. Biofortification of staple crops has been broadly accepted as the best strategy to overcome these limitations. Studies on the nutritional value of barley have proven its multiple benefits on human health and drove new attention towards the cultivation under the light of new food purposes. Biofortification of barley is approached through agronomic practices, conventional breeding, and/or the use of biotechnological tools and research results show that barley can be a promising crop for the emergence of novel food products with a significant impact on human nutrition.

Keywords

• biofortification
• grain crops
• micronutrient deficiency
• nutritional value
• novel food products