Improving zinc (Zn) content in wheat and its processed foods is an effective way to solve human Zn deficiency, which can cause a variety of diseases. This article summarizes the works on Zn in wheat grain, wheat processing, and wheat-derived foods. Grain Zn content in wheat was 31.84 mg·kg⁻¹ globally but varied across continents, for example, 25.10 mg·kg⁻¹ in Europe, 29.00 mg·kg⁻¹ in Africa, 33.63 mg·kg⁻¹ in Asia, and 33.91 mg·kg⁻¹ in North America. Grain Zn content in wheat improved from 28.96 to 36.61 mg·kg⁻¹ and that in flour increased from 10.51 to 14.82 mg·kg⁻¹ after Zn fortification. Furthermore, Zn content varied in the different processed components of wheat; that is, Zn content was 12.58 mg·kg⁻¹ in flour, 70.49 mg·kg⁻¹ in shorts, and 86.45 mg·kg⁻¹ in bran. Zinc content was also different in wheat-derived foods, such as 13.65 mg·kg⁻¹ in baked food, 10.65 mg·kg⁻¹ in fried food, and 8.03 mg·kg⁻¹ in cooking food. Therefore, the suitable Zn fortification, appropriate processing, and food type of wheat are important to meet people's Zn requirement through wheat.

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element that plays various roles in human health. Understanding the genetic control of Se content and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping provide a basis for Se biofortification of wheat to enhance grain Se content. In the present study, a set of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from two Chinese winter wheat varieties (Tainong18 and Linmai6) was used to detect QTLs for Se content in hydroponic and field trials. In total, 16 QTLs for six Se content-related traits were detected on eight chromosomes, 1B, 2B, 4B, 5A, 5B, 5D, 6A, and 7D. Of these, seven QTLs were detected at the seedling stage and nine at the adult stage. The contribution of each QTL to Se content ranged from 7.37% to 20.22%. QSsece-7D.2, located between marker loci D-3033829 and D-1668160, had the highest contribution (20.22%). This study helps in understanding the genetic basis for Se contents and will provide a basis for gene mapping of Se content in wheat.