Research of biofortification to eliminate deficiency

Zinc deficiency affects 17% of the world’s population and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is the world’s most common micronutrient disorder, with the greatest burden in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

In Pakistan, the National Nutrition Survey 2011 indicated that over 40% of women were zinc deficient and 20% had IDA.

The health consequences of zinc deficiency include stunted growth and impaired neurodevelopment in children, increased susceptibility to infections in children and adults, and complications during pregnancy and childbirth. IDA affects maternal and child mortality, physical and cognitive development in children and work productivity in adults.

Biofortification is a process by which the nutritional quality of food crops is improved through conventional plant breeding techniques and the addition of nutrient-rich fertilisers. An increasing body of evidence suggests that it may be a cost-effective and sustainable approach to reduce micronutrient deficiencies.

We are conducting the first large-scale investigation into the potential of biofortified wheat to reduce zinc and iron deficiencies among adolescent girls and children in Pakistan. The project, ‘Bizifed’, won the Research Project of the Year at the Educate North Awards in 2022.

Read Scaling biofortified zinc wheat in Pakistan: Evidence from the field, an article written by HarvestPlus who are the research organisation behind the biofortified wheat that was trialled in the research.

Ohly, Heather, Broadley, Martin, Joy, Edward, Khan, Muhammad, McArdle, Harry, Zaman, Mukhtiar, Zia, Munir and Lowe, Nicola M.The BiZiFED project: Biofortified Zinc Flour to Eliminate Deficiency in Pakistan..(2019) Nutrition Bulletin, 44 (1). pp. 60-64. ISSN 1471-9827

S. Gupta A. K. M. Brazier N. M. Lowe. Zinc deficiency in low‐ and middle‐income countries: prevalence and approaches for mitigation (2020). Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 33(5), 624-643. First published: 06 July 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.12791

Munir H. Zia, Iftikhar Ahmed, Elizabeth H. Bailey, R. Murray Lark, Scott D. Young, Nicola M. Lowe, Edward J.M. Joy, Lolita Wilson, Mukhtiar Zaman, Martin R. Broadley (2020). Site-specific factors influence the field performance of a Zn-biofortified wheat variety. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00135

Usman Mahboob, Heather Ohly, Edward J. M. Joy, Victoria Moran, Mukhtiar Zaman, Nicola M. Lowe (2020). Exploring community perceptions in preparation for a randomised controlled trial of biofortified flour in Pakistan. Pilot and Feasibility Studies 6:117 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-020-00664-4

Anna K.M. Brazier, Nicola M. Lowe, Mukhtiar Zaman, Babar Shazad, Heather Ohly, Harry. J McArdle, Ubaid Ullah, Martin R. Broadley, Elizabeth H. Bailey, Scott D. Young, Svetlana Tishkovskaya, M. Jaffar Khan (2020). Micronutrient Status and Diet Diversity of Women of Reproductive Age in Rural Pakistan. Nutrients https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/11/3407

Zaman, M., Afridi, G., Ohly, H. et al. Equitable partnerships in global health research. Nature Food (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00201-9

Lowe NM, Zaman M, Moran VH, Heather Ohly, Jonathan Sinclair, Sadia Fatima, Martin R Broadley, Edward J M Joy, Usman Mahboob, R Murray Lark, Munir H Zia, E Louise Ander, Paul A Sharp, Elizabeth H Bailey, Scott D Young, Muhammad Jaffar Khan. Biofortification of wheat with zinc for eliminating deficiency in Pakistan: study protocol for a cluster-randomised, double blind, controlled effectiveness study (BIZIFED2). BMJ Open 2020;10:e039231. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039231 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33896431/

Nicola M Lowe, Mukhtiar Zaman Afridi, Muhammad Jaffar Khan, Anna Brazier, Babar Shahzad, Ubaid Ullah, Gul Khobana, Heather Ohly, Martin R Broadley, Munir H Zia, Harry J McArdle, Edward J M Joy, Elizabeth H Bailey, Scott D Young, Jung Suh, Janet C King, Jonathan Sinclair, Svetlana Tishkovskaya. Biofortified wheat increases dietary zinc intake: A randomised controlled efficacy study of Zincol-2016 in rural Pakistan. Front. Nutr., 18 January 2022 https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.809783

Mahboob, U.; Ceballos Rasgado, M.; Moran, V.H.; Joy, E.J.M.;Ohly, H.; Zaman, M.; Lowe, N.M. Community Perceptions of Zinc Biofortified Flour during an Intervention Study in Pakistan. Nutrients 2022, 14, 817. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14040817

Gupta, S.; Zaman, M.; Fatima, S.; Shahzad, B.; Brazier, A.K.M.; Moran, V.H.; Broadley, M.R.; Zia, M.H.; Bailey, E.H.; Wilson, L.; Khan, I.M.; Sinclair, J.K.; Lowe, N.M. The Impact of Consuming Zinc-Biofortified Wheat Flour on Haematological Indices of Zinc and Iron Status in Adolescent Girls in Rural Pakistan: A Cluster-Randomised, Double-Blind, Controlled Effectiveness Trial. Nutrients 2022, 14, 1657.https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14081657

The programme of work includes three Work Packages:

WP1 – A trial effectiveness study of the potential of biofortified wheat (Zincol-2016) to improve zinc and iron status among adolescent girls and children living in a low resource community in Pakistan.

WP2 – A spatial modelling study to integrate soil and crop data, together with environmental covariates, to enable prediction and mapping of the variation in wheat grain zinc concentration due to soil properties, farmer management and wheat variety.

WP3 – A mixed methods study to understand the socio-cultural factors and market systems that affect the sustainable uptake of biofortified wheat in Pakistan.

Project Lead/Contact

Professor Nicola Lowe

Project Staff

Anna Brazier
Dr Jonathan Sinclair
Dr Marena Ceballos Rasgado
Dr Swarnim Gupta
Dr Victoria Hall Moran

Collaborators and Partners

Abaseen Foundation (Professor Mukhtiar Zaman)
British Geological Survey (Dr Louise Ander)
Fauji Fertilizer Company (Dr Munir Zia)
Khyber Medical University (Dr Jaffar Khan, Dr Usman Mahboob)
King’s College London (Professor Paul Sharp)
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (Dr Edward Joy)
University of Nottingham (Professor Martin Broadley, Professor Murray Lark, Dr Liz Bailey, Dr Scott Young)

Funders

BBSRC Global Challenges Research Fund

Biofortification with Zinc and Iron for Eliminating Deficiency (BIZIFED)

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Staff, Collaborators and Partners

Project Lead/Contact

Project Staff

Collaborators and Partners

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