Nutritional Characteristics of Iron-Biofortified Soft Wheat and Flour

Biofortification aims to make crops more nutritious as they grow rather than adding nutrients when processing them into foods. The content of ash, wet gluten, protein, fat, and Fe concentration of Macedonian wheat variety “Radika”, treated with Fechelates fertilizers by soil, soil-foliar and foliar application were determined. In whole wheat grain samples, the content of ash was in range (2.06%-2.15%), wet gluten (33-36), and Fe concentration (49.5 mg/kg-65.9 mg/kg) were increased. Lower values in wheat grain show a percentage of fat (1.12%-1.46%) and protein content (12.25-13). After the Fe fertilizers treatment values of all analyzed parameters in flour samples were increased. The content was in range-ash (0.57%- 0.59%), wet gluten (34-38), fat (1.0%- 2.16%) protein(11.9-12.9), and Fe`s concentration (38.9 mg/kg-43.6 mg/kg). Agronomic biofortification with Fe-EDTA fertilizers applied in different ways has influenced and also improved the nutritional characteristics of soft wheat and flour. These conclusions may have an important role in developing evidence of nutritional efficacy, оn absorption of nutrients from bio-fortification crops, first by using models, then by direct study in humans in controlled experiments.