This rice variety could tackle diabetes epidemic in South India

The Philippines’ Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has some good news for South Indian states, where diabetes is on the rise. India, as a whole, accounts for 101 million diabetic population and 136 million people with pre-diabetes.

Scientists at the IRRI have developed a rice variety with ultra-low/low glycaemic index (GI) and high protein content that is expected to counter the further spread of diabetes, particularly in south Indian states.

The new variety has also turned out to be a high yielding crop with reduced duration.

Indian scientist

Incidentally the team, consisting of about 50 members, who worked for 10 years to develop the strain, is also led by a scientist from South India.

Dr Nese Sreenivasulu, the team leader and principal scientist at IRRI, hails from Anantapuramu in Andhra Pradesh. He told The Federal that he is hopeful the new rice variety will be made available for public consumption in 2026.

South India’s problem

According to a report tabled in the Lok Sabha in December 2024, of the top five states with the highest number of diabetic patients, four are in south India.

Data from the non-communicable disease (NCD) clinics says that Kerala tops the list with 47 lakhs patients followed by Maharashtra (40 lakhs). Karnataka and Telangana come next with 28 lakhs and 24.5 lakhs patients respectively.

A study by the ICMR-INDIAB revealed that Tamil Nadu has about 43 lakhs patients. Dozens of other studies reveal that diabetes type 2 burden is on the rise in southern India.

Asia and rice

The situation is no less alarming in other Asian countries, said Dr Sreenivasulu.

Asia, which accounts for 60 per cent of the global diabetic population, produces and consumes 90 per cent of the polished rice which is loaded with easily digestible starch (90 per cent).

“All the starch-laden rice varieties exhibit a high GI. The increased consumption of high GI food in the form of highly processed products leads to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and other noncommunicable diseases,” he said.

Tackling blood sugar

High GI causes a rapid blood sugar spike.

As the low- and middle-income countries contribute to more than 75 per cent of diabetes incidences, the IRRI took upon itself to address the issue by developing a rice variety with low GI and high PC.

“There is a pressing need to have diabetic-friendly, healthier rice varieties to tackle the escalating global prevalence of diabetes,” Dr Sreenivasulu said.

IRRI research

The IRRI’s mission led to a rice variety IRRI-147, with a low GI property of 55 per cent, moderate zinc levels of 22 ppm and high yielding 5.5-9 tonnes per hectare in India based on trials by Indian Institute of Rice Research, he said.

Stating that white rice usually has a high GI (70–94), Dr Sreenivasulu said the challenging task was to develop a rice that balances low GI, taste, texture and yield.

“We could achieve this by employing advanced techniques namely marker-assisted breeding and genome editing technologies and developing ultra-low GI and high protein rice varieties,” he said.

High protein level

The research began in 2013. It took four years to identify genes associated with low GI, high amylose content and high PC and their loci on the chromosome 2.

The whole project led to the successful creation of a new variety and development of the valued food products, and was completed in 10 years. The recombinant new variety is a cross between Samba Mahsuri and IR36.

“The new variety has reported a protein level as high as 15.9 per cent which is almost 500 per cent more than the conventional milled rice. The variety is also endowed with higher levels of essential amino acids,” he said.

Millets and rice

Dr Sreenivasulu told The Federal that switching over to other food grains like millets that have low GI and higher fiber content can only lead to a part solution to the problem as these crops with low yields (1.5 MTs) cannot replace rice which yields 5 to 6 MTs per acre.

“In certain agro-climatic conditions like deltaic regions, other than rice no crop can be grown sustainably. This highlights the importance of rice as a staple food in the rice cultivating regions,” he added.

“People have been consuming rice for centuries. At the present rate of production, millets cannot be an alternative to vast rice eating populations across the globe. So, development of low GI rice varieties, with an emphasis on balancing the health benefits, grain quality and agricultural productivity alone is the viable option,” he said.

Good farm economics

The new rice variety has a huge export potential and is expected to fetch $ 1,600 per MT in the global market while the price of ordinary rice doesn't exceed $350.

Now, IRRI is planning to set up a processing plant at Bhubaneswar in collaboration with the Odisha government to popularize the rice in India.

“An agreement with the Odisha government has been signed to involve women’s self-help groups (WSHGs) to produce, process and market low GI and high-protein rice and value-added products like flake, upma mix, cookies etc. Besides direct health benefits, low GI rice could provide economic opportunities for farmers by tapping into premium markets for health-focused rice products,” he added.