Pseudocereals as super foods of 21st century: Recent technological interventions

Cereals have been known to play a pivotal role to meet the demand of the human population since time immemorial. Cereals like corn, wheat and rice constitute approximately about 80% food consumption and are biofortified to improve the vitamin and other essential micro-nutrients. On the other hand, pseudocereals are naturally enriched with these essential micronutrients, but have not been explored for large-scale production and consumption till date. In this context, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has identified many plants as under-utilized, which can significantly contribute for improving nutrition and health, enhance food basket and livelihoods, future food security and sustainable development. These underutilized crops offer an immense potential in the functional food sector to combat hidden hunger crisis and offer the options of income generation. Moreover, since underutilized crops are closely knit to cultural traditions and therefore are envisaged to have a role in supporting social diversity. To explore these neglected or lost crops, there is an increasing interest in research and development that needs heightened direction and focus. We need to develop a multidisciplinary approach that involves many stake holders to review and accelerate the domestication of these neglected crops. These reviews focus on nutritional profile of emerging pseudocereals and analyze the various constraints of their integration into the global food system.