Genetic diversity for iron and zinc contents in a collection of 220 rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes

Abstract

Micronutrient malnutrition or ‘hidden hunger’, resulting from the consumption of diets deficient in minerals (iron, zinc, iodine, etc), vitamins and essential amino acids, affects more than one-half of the world’s population especially women and children in developing countries [1-3]. It causes several diseases (anemia, endemic goiter, child blindness, etc.); the affected people are more prone to infection to other diseases resulting in further deterioration in quality of life. Of these, iron deficiency is the most common nutritional disorder in the world affecting over 4 billion people, with more than 2 billion people, mainly in developing countries, actually being anemic (WHO; http://www.who.int/nut/ida.htm). Zinc deficiency in humans reduces growth, sexual maturity and the immune defence system [4]. Zinc deficiency is not easily distinguished, but on the basis of intake figures, it may be equally prevalent in human populations.