On April 21st, the reporter learned from the Environmental Protection Research and Monitoring Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs that the innovation team of heavy metal ecological toxicology and pollution remediation found that certain nutritional components in wheat grains, such as calcium, magnesium, phytic acid, and methionine, have a significant impact on the bioavailability of cadmium and lead. This provides new ideas and strategies for the safe utilization and variety selection of heavy metal contaminated farmland. The relevant research results were recently published in the international journal Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. Wheat cadmium and lead pollution pose a serious threat to human health. Bioavailability refers to the potential of heavy metals in agricultural products to be absorbed by the human body, and is an important indicator for measuring the risk of wheat cadmium and lead pollution to human health. However, the genotype differences and key influencing factors of cadmium and lead bioavailability in wheat are still unclear. Wang Lin, the corresponding author of the paper and a researcher at the Environmental Protection Research and Monitoring Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, told reporters that the study found significant genotype differences in cadmium and lead bioavailability and health risk index among 11 winter wheat varieties, that is, individuals with different gene compositions have differences in corresponding indicators. Researchers utilized these differences to select the wheat variety "Shannong 16" with the lowest health risk and cadmium and lead concentration in the grains. The research team further found that the nutritional composition of wheat grains is closely related to their cadmium and lead bioavailability. "Specifically, the nutritional components such as calcium, magnesium, phytic acid, and methionine in wheat grains have a significant impact on the bioavailability of cadmium and lead, which is an important reason for the genotype differences in wheat cadmium and lead bioavailability. When the calcium and phytic acid content in wheat grains is high, the bioavailability of cadmium and lead will decrease, that is, the potential for these heavy metals to be absorbed by the human body will be reduced." Wang Lin said that this study provides a new method to reduce the health risks caused by cadmium and lead pollution by selecting or adjusting the nutritional composition of wheat. (Lai Xin She)