Research suggests that increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration may reduce rice nutrition
Washington, May 23 (Xinhua) -- An increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may reduce the content of nutrients such as B vitamins and protein in rice, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances on May 23.
An international team of researchers from Australia, the United States, Japan and China selected 18 common rice varieties to simulate the estimated concentration levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide by the end of the century in experimental cultivation. The researchers installed special plastic tubes 30cm above the ears of rice to regulate the release of carbon dioxide and monitor how changes in its concentration might affect the nutrition of the rice.
The results found that the content of vitamins B1, B2, B5 and B9 in rice was reduced by an average of 17.1 percent, 16.6 percent, 12.7 percent and 30.3 percent. The results of the experiment also confirmed the conclusion of a previous study, which found that the protein, iron and zinc content of rice also decreased under high carbon dioxide concentrations.
Co-author Lewis Cheska, a plant physiologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Adaptive Planting Systems Laboratory, said the lower levels of B vitamins may be related to lower levels of nitrogen in plants at high levels of carbon dioxide, which increases the amount of carbohydrates in rice and decreases the amount of protein and minerals.
The study suggests that not all rice varieties will be affected, so in the future researchers should aim to find varieties with nutrient profiles that are not affected by changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.