Iodine supplementation through its biofortification in Brassica species depending on the type of soil.

Iodine is an essential microelement for humans and its deficiency leads to iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) which is a common problem faced by people in hilly areas. Biofortification of iodine is an option to overcome the IDD problem. Herein, we investigated the iodine uptake and accumulation in the edible portion of vegetables such as Brassica napus (BNP) and Brassica pekinensis (BPK) which were grown on two different soils such as sandy soil (SS) and silty loam soil (SLS) with different concentrations of iodine application (used in sodium iodide form) such as 0 ppm, 50 ppm, and 100 ppm. The concentration of iodine was determined by the oxidation of iodide, and nutrients were examined by double acid digestion. Different concentrations of iodine were noticed in silty loam and sandy soils, roots, and shoots of BNP and BPK, while the concentration follows the order: soils > roots > shoots. Iodine concentrations in the roots of BNP and BPK ranged from 46 to 223.7 µg/g which shows a strong correlation with other soil nutrients. Moreover, a large amount of iodine was lost due to the leaching. It is concluded that the biofortification of iodine increases its concentration in Brassica species. This work provides a reference for the iodine biofortification in plant species which will be helpful to control IDD.

Socio-demographic characters, distribution and transformation of iodine in soil, plant and wheat grains at District Diamer, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.

Iodine deficiency in soils and plants is a common problem in the hilly areas and has still been ignored. The aim of the current study is to investigate associated health issues, socio-economic characteristics and people's perception regarding iodine deficiency. Furthermore, a follow-up study was conducted to determine iodine and nutrients concentration in soil and crops at District Diamer, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. A descriptive and empirical analysis was examined. Most importantly, male was significantly observed as more affected for iodine deficiency than female, as contrary to the literature, socio-economic factors such as households' income and awareness (education) are reported as negative and significant contributor to reduce the iodine deficiency among the people irrespective of the gender. Majority of people (84%) heard about the iodine, but about 51.6% people argue that iodine has no effect on the human body and 56% of the respondents do not know why iodine is necessary for human. It was found that 11.5% of the community was affected from the IDD and majority of them were females. Wheat crops were the principal crop since it supplies 75% of calorific energy in an average Pakistani diet. The concentrations of iodine in soil samples range from 4.21 to 5.45 mg kg-1. The concentration of iodine in wheat crop plant sampled were considerably varied as Boner > Gais > Goher Abad with 1.12, 0.91 and 0.81 mg kg-1. respectively. Likewise, grain iodine concentration was varied as Gais > Boner > Goher Abad with 0.126, 0.102 and 0.078 mg kg-1, respectively. This study exposed that community using the cereal crops could face iodine deficiency in their diet which can cause endemic goiter among the population and control the iodine deficiency by empowering the rural community to raise the income level and providing the awareness to the people.