Cereal grains are the major food staples that provide more than 50% of dietary calories and proteins for the world's population. The macronutrients found in cereals are starch, protein, and lipids. The micronutrients such as minerals, vitamins, polyphenols and are important components that determine the nutritional quality. Although the Green Revolution has greatly increased the yield of cereal crops. they often lack nutrients essential for human health in the edible tissues. In developing nutrition-sensitive agriculture and sustainable food systems, the nutritional quality of cereal grains is a major target for improvement. With the high cost of health care and rising incidences of lifestyle diseases like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, the nutritional quality of foods available to consumers is under increased scrutiny. Processing makes food healthier, safer, tastier, and more shelf-stable. While the benefits are numerous, processing can also be detrimental, affecting the nutritional quality of foods. Renewed efforts have been made globally to improve the quality of nutrition from major cereals which includes increasing understanding of the genetic diversity available with gene-banks, crop improvement efforts including biofortification, genomic approaches, food processing, value addition, nutrient bioavailability, and food safety and quality testing.
Rice, wheat, and maize contribute to the maximum calorie requirements of the global population. Nutritionists have long recognized dietary diversity as a key element of high-quality diets. Increasing the variety of foods across and within food groups is recommended in most dietary guidelines. There is an urgent need to diversify our food plates with ancient crops such as sorghum and millets which have revived a lot of interest in cultivation in recent years due to their nutritional superiority. Diversifying food production systems can also help to mitigate the growing negative effects of changing climate. The U.N. General Assembly recently adopted a resolution, sponsored by India and supported by more than 70 countries, declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millets. The resolution is intended to increase public awareness of the health benefits of millets, their suitability for cultivation in a range of environments, and also the incorporation of diversified diets into our food systems.
The topic will address the latest advances in the field of cereal nutrition research of major cereals (Rice, Wheat, and Maize), sorghum, and millets (Pearl millet, Finger millet, Foxtail millet, Proso millet, Little millet, Kodo Millet, Teff, Fonio) and Pseudocereals. We welcome original research, Review, methods, and Opinion articles within, but not limited to the subjects of:
1. Importance of cereals and millets in human nutrition
2. Compositional diversity for key nutritional traits
3. Biofortification efforts towards better nutritional quality
4. Biotechnological/Genomic approaches for improved nutrition
5. Effect of processing and storage/shelf life on nutritional quality
6. Nutrient Bioavailability
7. Cereal and millets food safety and quality testing
Cereal grains are the major food staples that provide more than 50% of dietary calories and proteins for the world's population. The macronutrients found in cereals are starch, protein, and lipids. The micronutrients such as minerals, vitamins, polyphenols and are important components that determine the nutritional quality. Although the Green Revolution has greatly increased the yield of cereal crops. they often lack nutrients essential for human health in the edible tissues. In developing nutrition-sensitive agriculture and sustainable food systems, the nutritional quality of cereal grains is a major target for improvement. With the high cost of health care and rising incidences of lifestyle diseases like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, the nutritional quality of foods available to consumers is under increased scrutiny. Processing makes food healthier, safer, tastier, and more shelf-stable. While the benefits are numerous, processing can also be detrimental, affecting the nutritional quality of foods. Renewed efforts have been made globally to improve the quality of nutrition from major cereals which includes increasing understanding of the genetic diversity available with gene-banks, crop improvement efforts including biofortification, genomic approaches, food processing, value addition, nutrient bioavailability, and food safety and quality testing.
Rice, wheat, and maize contribute to the maximum calorie requirements of the global population. Nutritionists have long recognized dietary diversity as a key element of high-quality diets. Increasing the variety of foods across and within food groups is recommended in most dietary guidelines. There is an urgent need to diversify our food plates with ancient crops such as sorghum and millets which have revived a lot of interest in cultivation in recent years due to their nutritional superiority. Diversifying food production systems can also help to mitigate the growing negative effects of changing climate. The U.N. General Assembly recently adopted a resolution, sponsored by India and supported by more than 70 countries, declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millets. The resolution is intended to increase public awareness of the health benefits of millets, their suitability for cultivation in a range of environments, and also the incorporation of diversified diets into our food systems.
The topic will address the latest advances in the field of cereal nutrition research of major cereals (Rice, Wheat, and Maize), sorghum, and millets (Pearl millet, Finger millet, Foxtail millet, Proso millet, Little millet, Kodo Millet, Teff, Fonio) and Pseudocereals. We welcome original research, Review, methods, and Opinion articles within, but not limited to the subjects of:
1. Importance of cereals and millets in human nutrition
2. Compositional diversity for key nutritional traits
3. Biofortification efforts towards better nutritional quality
4. Biotechnological/Genomic approaches for improved nutrition
5. Effect of processing and storage/shelf life on nutritional quality
6. Nutrient Bioavailability
7. Cereal and millets food safety and quality testing
