The world over, malnutrition has been successfully treated with peanuts, which are regarded as a superfood. More protein and 30 vitamins and minerals that are needed for preventing acute malnutrition can be found in peanuts. Human health is improved by regular peanut eating. Essential characteristics of peanut seed quality include oil content and oil quality, which are influenced by variations in the fatty acids oleic (O) and linoleic (L). Aflatoxin, which is produced by the fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, is a major health issue, whereas peanut allergy is a food allergy that can be fatal and is frequently lifelong. Peanut products' shelf life and, consequently, marketability, are increased by high O/L ratio. In comparison to wheat, maize, and barley, peanuts have far higher quantities of phytic acid and less inorganic phosphorus than pigeon pea, chickpea, and urdbean.Cations like Fe2+, Zn2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ are chelated by phytate, which lowers their bioavailability in both humans and animals.

In groundnut,TILLING was one approach followed to reduce allergens.Before performing TILLING in peanut gene copy is detected since it is a diploid species.Nested PCR was used In this method, both gene copies were amplified using unlabeled primers. A second PCR cycle with gene-specific labelled primers was conducted. Using the mutagen ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), 3,420 M2 individuals were examined, and a mutation frequency of 1 SNP/967 kb was found. A disrupted start codon in Ara h 2.02 and a premature stop codon in Ara h 1.02 were the mutations that were most notable. Following generations for each of these mutations recovered homozygous individuals, and the absence of the Ara h 2.02 protein was confirmed. A number of Ara h 1 proteins are knocked down.

In peanut using fad2 marker-aided backcross selection, one elite variety, "huayu22," was crossed with the high-oleic-acid "KN176" donor and backcrossed for four generations as the recurrent parent. The oleic acid content of advanced generations obtained through selfing was evaluated by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy and gas chromatography using the KASP PCR screening of fad2 markers. One line with a high yield and oleic acid content was found among the top BC4F6 generations that is "YH61.The line YH61 had a high and consistent yield at three distinct locations and was relatively resistant to the leaf spot disease. Two years of (DUS) testing indicated that YH61 met the requirement for the application of variety rights.

For increasing Aflatoxin resistance and yield the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) for aflatoxin production (AP) resistance and hundred-seed weight (HSW) was done using a RIL population resulting from a hybrid between Zhonghua 16 with high yield and J 11 with resistance to infection of A. flavus and aflatoxin production. Six QTLs for HSW and 11 QTLs for AP resistance with phenotypic variation explanations (PVE) ranging from 3.20 to 28.48% were found. Resistance against the generation of aflatoxin was observed in 15 lines to be superior to that of their parents.

It's crucial to keep in mind that a number of elements, such as funding, consumer acceptance, and changing agricultural practises,and paradigm shift in human health concern have an impact on the possibilities of peanut breeding. Realising these potential outcomes and overcoming the difficulties the peanut sector is currently facing will require continued cooperation between breeders, researchers, and other stakeholders.

References: 1. TANG, Y., QIU, X., HU, C., LI, J., WU, L., WANG, W., LI, X., LI, X., ZHU, H., SUI, J. AND WANG, J., 2022, Breeding of a new variety of peanut with high-oleic-acid content and high-yield by marker-assisted backcrossing. Mol. Breeding, 42(7) : 42-57. 

2. KNOLL, J.E., RAMOS, M.L., ZENG, Y., HOLBROOK, C.C., CHOW, M., CHEN, S., MALEKI, S., BHATTACHARYA, A. AND OZIAS-AKINS, P., 2011, TILLING for allergen reduction and improvement of quality traits in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). BMC plant biology, 11(1): 1-13.

 3. JIN, G., LIU, N., YU, B., JIANG, Y., LUO, H., HUANG, L., ZHOU, X., YAN, L., KANG, Y., HUAI, D. AND DING, Y., 2023, Identification and Pyramiding Major QTL Loci for Simultaneously Enhancing Aflatoxin Resistance and Yield Components in Peanut. Genes, 14(3): 625-638

 4. DWIVEDI, S., PUPPALA, N., MALEKI, S., OZIAS‐AKINS, P. AND ORTIZ, R., 2014, Peanut improvement for human health. Plant Breeding Reviews, 38(2): 143-186.