Frontiers in Nutrition (Aug 2020)
Zinc in Wheat Grain, Processing, and Food
Abstract
Improving zinc (Zn) content in wheat and its processed foods is an effective way to solve human Zn deficiency, which can cause a variety of diseases. This article summarizes the works on Zn in wheat grain, wheat processing, and wheat-derived foods. Grain Zn content in wheat was 31.84 mg·kg−1 globally but varied across continents, for example, 25.10 mg·kg−1 in Europe, 29.00 mg·kg−1 in Africa, 33.63 mg·kg−1 in Asia, and 33.91 mg·kg−1 in North America. Grain Zn content in wheat improved from 28.96 to 36.61 mg·kg−1 and that in flour increased from 10.51 to 14.82 mg·kg−1 after Zn fortification. Furthermore, Zn content varied in the different processed components of wheat; that is, Zn content was 12.58 mg·kg−1 in flour, 70.49 mg·kg−1 in shorts, and 86.45 mg·kg−1 in bran. Zinc content was also different in wheat-derived foods, such as 13.65 mg·kg−1 in baked food, 10.65 mg·kg−1 in fried food, and 8.03 mg·kg−1 in cooking food. Therefore, the suitable Zn fortification, appropriate processing, and food type of wheat are important to meet people's Zn requirement through wheat.
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