Genetics and chemistry of pigments in wheat grain – A review

Cereal grains contain many phytochemicals, some of which significantly influence the grain colour. Anthocyanins are accumulated in the aleurone or pericarp layer and give blue, purple or combination of these colours. Flavonoids, such as yellow C-glycosides of flavones, flavonols, flavanonols, proanthocyanidins and reddish-coloured phlobaphenes are mainly present in the outer layer of grains while carotenoids that are responsible for yellow grain are in the endosperm. Therefore, accumulation of these pigments in the grain can represent an important target in breeding programmes aimed at increasing the concentrations of bioactive components in grain and products. This review therefore summarises our current knowledge of anthocyanin and carotenoid pigments, their genetic control and variation in levels in different wheat lines.