ABSTRACT
Wheat is one of the oldest cultivated crop and ranks third from maize and rice, in terms of production, with over 715 million tonnes, compared to over 1 billion tonnes of maize and 740 million tonnes of rice (FAOSTAT, 2013). Wheat serves as a major component of the diet for most of the populations because of its nutritional composition and versatility of use (Serna-Saldivar, 2010; Uthayakumaran and Wrigler, 2010). Wheat accounts for 20-80% of the total food consumption in the different regions of the world (Sidhu et al., 2007), serving as a source of carbohydrates, proteins and micronutrients (minerals and B-vitamins) (Kumar et al., 2011) in the diet. It accounts for 40% of the caloric intake from cereals, about 50% of the protein in the diet (Serna-Saldivar, 2010) and 40% of the fats from all cereal grain-based foods (Uthayakumaran and Wrigler, 2010; Xiao-ling et al., 2008). Xiao-ling et al. (2008) reported that in North China, wheat provides 40% of the total protein in the daily diet of the population. Current research has shown that wheat, like other cereals, is not only a source of nutrients but also contains non-nutrient components, phytochemicals with nutraceutical value (Langenkämper et al., 2006; Uauy et al., 2006; Saikia and Deka,
2011; Dinelli et al., 2013; Kumar et al., 2011). Nutrients and phytochemicals complement each other in contributing to the well-being of human health.
