Millets: The Indigenous Food Grains

Gelatinisation and Rheological Characteristics of Minor Millet Flours

Millets contain anti-nutritional factors which limits their use in processed food products. Pre-treatments processes of these traditional grains such a germination and roasting have potential to reduce the anti-nutritional factors. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of germination and roasting on the proximate, and antinutritional content of three varieties of millet. These grains were germinated, and roasted and milled into flour. Three treatments namely, unprocessed millets (A1, B1 and C1), germinated millets (A2, B2, and C2), and roasted millets (A3, B3, and C3) processed finger millet, foxtail and proso millet were prepared. The results showed that millet processing i.e. germination significantly increased the protein content, moisture content, ash content, and fiber content whereas slightly decrease the fat content. Similarly, roasting significantly increased the crude fiber content and ash content whereas reduced the moisture, protein and fat content respectively. Both germination and roasting significantly reduced the phytate, tannin and oxalate content. Germination led to a notable reduction in tannin levels across all three millet varieties, yielding values of 29.45 mg/100 g, 15.80 mg/100 g, and 17.97 mg/100 g. The phytate content decreased from 374.94 to 223.36 mg/100 g, from 431.44 to 205.9 mg/100 g, and from 326.12 to 248.13 mg/100 g, respectively. Finally, the oxalate concentrations were lowered from 21.43 mg/100 g to 9.88 mg/100 g, from 7.1 mg/100 g to 5.06 mg/100 g, and from 7.95 mg/100 g to 5.4 mg/100 g in finger, foxtail, and proso millet, respectively, indicating reductions of 53.9%, 30.1%, and 32.1%. Similarly, roasting, significantly decreased the levels of tannins, phytates, and oxalates in finger millet, foxtail millet, and proso millet

Globally, millets are small-seeded grasses cultivated for human consumption and livestock feed. They thrive in low rainfall regions, poor soil quality, and challenging terrains. Millets are a healthy food choice due to their high nutrient content, including proteins, soluble fiber, vitamins, and minerals such as copper, magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese. Compared to major cereals, millets are packed with antioxidants and essential amino acids. They have a low glycemic index (GI) due to their high complex carbohydrate content, which provides a healthier option than conventional wheat flour. Millets support a healthy gut microbiome, reduce constipation, and decrease excessive gas. Their soluble fiber helps lower "bad" cholesterol levels, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis, and produces a gel in the stomach that alleviates ulcer conditions. Millets serve as nutrient-dense foods and are nutritionally assessed across six attributes: carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. In this review and comparative statistical evaluation of eight millets with Rice and Wheat, the overall ranking for all six nutritional attributes was derived using the Smith Selection Index. The top five ranked grains were Finger millet (first rank), Pearl millet (second rank), Wheat (third rank), Foxtail millet (fourth rank), and Kodo millet (fifth rank).

Influence of malted buckwheat, foxtail and proso millet flour incorporation on the physicochemical, protein digestibility and antioxidant properties of gluten-free rice cookies

Small millets are highly nutritious crops and are rich source of macronutrients, micronutrients, and phytochemicals. Owing to their agrarian as well as nutritional qualities, these have the potential to provide food and nutrition security. Macronutrient profile of small millets is similar to that of major cereals like wheat and rice; however, small millets score higher in terms of micronutrients and phytochemicals. Finger millet is a source of good quality protein and has a sound amino acid profile. Among cereals and millets, it is the richest source of calcium and is also good source of iron and phosphorus. The therapeutic properties of finger millet can be attributed to its high dietary fiber and phenolic content. The protein content of foxtail millet is higher than that of widely consumed major cereals such as rice and maize. Foxtail millet and its bran is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) such as linoleic acid. Foxtail millet is a good source of dietary fiber and several minerals. Antioxidants present in foxtail millet exhibit effective inhibition of free radicals action. Apart from minerals, kodo millet is a good source of dietary fiber, antioxidants, and polyphenols and can be used as a nutraceutical. Barnyard millet contains highly digestible protein. It is also a good source of dietary fiber, iron, niacin, and thiamine. Proso and little millets are rich sources of mineral, B vitamins, dietary fiber, and phytochemicals and antioxidants.KeywordsSmall milletsNutritiousMacronutrientsMicronutrientsPhytochemicals

Presently, agriculture is facing tremendous problem due to climate change and global warming. To ensure food and nutritional security at national level, there is an immediate need to promote the cultivation of millets as millets are considered climate smart and nature friendly crops because of high nutritive value and can withstand under warm and drought conditions with short life, low external inputs requirement, tolerance to water and temperatures stress. Ten millet crops have been declared as ‘Nutri Cereals’ which include three major millets i.e., pearl millet, sorghum and finger millet; five minor millets i.e. foxtail millet, proso millet, kodo millet, barnyard millet, little millet; and two pseudo millets i.e. kuttu (buckwheat) and amaranthus. Due to sluggish growth in initial phases of life, millets proved relatively poor competitors against weeds. Manual weeding is the most commonly adopted for weed control in millets. But the non-availability of labour and ever-increasing labour wages have compelled the farmers to seek alternate method of weed management. Herbicide use is the most viable method of weed control but their continuous and excessive use is not advisable due to its ill effects on environment and development of herbicide resistance in weeds. Very limited options are available in literature for weed control in minor millets. Thus, integrated weed management practices should be followed on site and time specific basis for effective and efficient weed management in minor millets. For integrated weed management in minor millets, 2-3 times inter-cultivation and 1-2 time hand weeding during initial 25 days after sowing in addition to pre-emergence spray with Isoproturon @ 0.5 -1.0 kg a.i./ha and post emergence spray of 2, 4-D sodium salt @ 0.75-1.0 kg a.i./ha at 20-25 days after sowing should be done for effective weed control.

Small millets, also known as nutri‐cereals, belong to the grass family Poaceae that have tiny seeds and are drought and heat tolerant, besides being powerhouse of nutrition, hence making them ideal crops that shall combat not just food and nutritional security but also adapt well to the changing climatic conditions. They grow well on marginal soil and require least resources for their cultivation. Nutritional superiority to popularly cultivated major cereals makes them a magnificent alternative food especially in the age of lifestyle related disorders. In this review, we provide insights of the initial commencement of research on small millets and deliberate the breeding progress based on conventional and genomics‐based approaches. The small millets under discussion are finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, little millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet and browntop millet. The major focus here is to recapitulate the breeding activities in the above‐mentioned millets rather than providing a way forward for breeding small millets.

Fettuccine is one the variety of pasta. As pasta is a widely consumed food in all over the world. Efforts were initiated to prepare novel value added fettuccine pasta. For the formulation of value added fettuccine, 5 samples variation (V1-V5) were developed including standard. It was prepared from composite flour of various combination of bamboo shoot powder (BSP) (40-60g), foxtail millet flour (FMF) (90-110g), fine wheat flour (FWF) (300-400g), vegetable oil (VO) (10-15g) and to evaluate proximal, nutrient, texture and organoleptic properties of the product. The proximate analysis of fettuccine prepared with different treatments included dry carbohydrate, protein, fat, soluble and insoluble fiber according to their respective procedures. For optimum nutrient analysis of incorporated fettuccine has found to be high in carbohydrate in the V5 (5.35%), protein in V5 (3.51%) and fats in V3 (0.59%). Total fiber in V5 (1.27%). Texture analysis reported higher hardness in (V2), stringiness in (V1) and stickiness in (V4). For sensory score revealed that (V2 and V4) had highest overall acceptability (OAA). The result was analyzed through analysis of variance technique using SPSS version 16.0 to determine the level of significance. Therefore it was concluded that bamboo shoots content low fat, high potassium content, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals etc. Shoots have antioxidant capacity due to presence of phenolic compounds. Millets have been neglected despite their nutritive value and therapeutic use. Foxtail millet (Setaria Italica) is the second-most widely planted species of millet. It is nutritionally superior to conventional food grains and exhibits hypoglycemic effect due to presence of higher proportion of unavailable complex carbohydrate and resistant starch. So, it is very important to conserve the traditional food practices by aware the people about the importance of bamboo shoot and millets with developing value added products for the community.

This chapter intentionally overlaps with Chapter 4 in its geographical scope, as there is no clear boundary between South-West and South Asia. Western Asiatic landforms—mountain ranges, alluvial valleys, semi-arid steppe, and desert—extend eastwards from the Iranian plateau beyond the Caspian Sea into Turkmenistan in Central Asia, and there are similar environments in South Asia from Baluchistan (western Pakistan) and the Indus valley into north-west India as far east as the Aravalli hills (Fig. 5.1). Rainfall increases steadily moving eastwards across the vast and immensely fertile alluvial plains of northern India. The north-east (Bengal, Assam, Bhutan) is tropical, with tropical conditions also extending down the eastern coast of the peninsula and up the west coast as far as Bombay. Today the great majority of the rural population of the region lives by agriculture, though many farmers also hunt game if they have the opportunity. The ‘Eurasian’ farming system predominates in the western part of the region: the cultivation of crops sown in the winter and harvested in the spring (rabi), such as barley, wheat, oats, lentils, chickpeas, jujube, mustard, and grass peas, integrated with animal husbandry based especially on sheep, goats, and cattle. A second system (kharif ) takes advantage of the summer monsoon rains: crops are sown in the late spring at the start of the monsoon and harvested in the autumn. Rice (Oryza sativa) is the main summer or kharif crop (though millets and pulses are also key staples), grown wherever its considerable moisture needs can be met, commonly by rainfall in upland swidden systems and on the lowlands by flooding bunded or dyked fields in paddy systems. The systems are referred to as ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ rice farming respectively. Rice is the primary staple in the eastern or tropical zone receiving the greatest amount of summer monsoon rain. This extends from the Ganges (Ganga) valley eastwards through Assam into Myanmar (Burma) and East Asia. There are something like 100,000 varieties of domesticated Asian rice, but the main one grown in the region is Oryza indica. A wide range of millets is also grown as summer crops in rain-fed systems throughout the semi-arid tropical regions of South Asia, including sorghum or ‘great millet’, finger millet, pearl or bullrush millet, proso or common millet, foxtail millet, bristley foxtail, browntopmillet, kodo millet, littlemillet, and sawamillet.

Chapter 18 - Small millet improvement using molecular breeding approaches

Small millets are climate smart cereals and they are rich in fibre, protein and minerals which are essential for human good health. Now days, number of nations including India suffering from malnutrition. The aim of investigation is to know what factors influence on nutrients of small millets are. presently There were eight different genotypes were taken from four small millet crops viz., Finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet and little millet and experiments were carried out in Hanumanamatti and Dhrwad in zone -8 and Mudhol in zone-3 of Karnataka. These genotypes produced protein range from 7.05 per cent (DHFM-78-3 at finger millet) to 11.975 per cent (DHPM-2769 in proso millet), iron content recorded range from1.437 mg/100 g (karisavi grain) to 5.686 mg/ 100 (DHPM-2769in proso millet at Dharwad). Variability of manganese range between 0.0962 mg/ 100 g (DHPM-2769 at Dharwad) to 0.931 mg /100g of (DHFM-78-3 in finger millet at Hanumanamatti), while copper range from 0.207 mg /100 g (DHLM-36-3 in little millet at Hanumanamatti) to 0.934 mg/100 g (DHLM-36-3 in little millet at Mudhol). The zinc content varied from 0.364 mg/100g (Mallesavi in little millet at Hanumanamatti) to 1.262 mg/100g of grain (DHPM-2769, Mudhol).

Present study was undertaken for development of gluten free processed products i.e. cookies and pasta by incorporation of gluten-free ingredients in different proportions. Gluten free raw ingredients i. e. finger millet (FM), pearl millet (PM), soya bean (SB) and groundnut (GN) were assessed for their nutritional characteristics. Results of nutritional analysis concluded that these ingredients are a rich source of crude fibre, protein, fat and ash or mineral content. Different formulations were prepared depending on variation of ingredients in each formulation. In case of cookies, the formulation containing all the four ingredients i. e. FM, PM, SB and GN in equal proportion (25% each) was liked most and scored highest on 9-point hedonic rating scale. Whereas, in case of steamed pasta (PS) and steamed as well as fried pasta (PF) products, the most acceptable formulation was the one containing 30% PM, 35% FM and 35% SB flour. Also, PF was liked more than PS as frying increased the palatability of fried products. Although, all formulations of both products were moderately acceptable having organoleptic score more than 7.0 as per assessment on 9 point hedonic rating scale but, the formulations containing higher amount of pearl millet were scored slightly lower as compared to other formulation mainly due to the lower values for sensory parameters such as colour, flavour and texture of such products. Incorporation of nutritious gluten free ingredients increased the content of essential nutrients such as crude fibre, crude fat, crude proteins and mineral or ash contents to a significant (P≤0.05) extent as compared to control.

Recently, celiac disease is a prominent syndrome in developing countries and there is a growing demand for gluten-free foods. Availability of millets is easy and provides many opportunities for developing gluten-free foods. In this study food processing such as germination and popping were carried out to improve nutrients in millets and gluten-free food products were developed incorporating them at 10, 20 and 30%. Germinated Finger Millet Flour (GFMF) had ash (2.7 g/100g), fat (2.0 g/ 100g), crude fiber (4.5 g/100g), protein (8.7 g/100g), carbohydrate (69.2 g/100g), calcium (359.6 mg/100g) and iron (4.5 mg/100g). Popped pearl millet flour (PPMF) contained ash (2.2 g/100g), fat (5.9 g/100g), crude fiber (2.8 g/100g), protein (14.4 g/100g), carbohydrate (64.7 g/100g), calcium (51.2 mg/100g) and iron (8.9 mg/100g). Popping also enhanced ash, protein, carbohydrate, iron and phosphorus content in millets. Two products named fortified sweet pancake and millet dense halwa were prepared by incorporating GFMF and GPMF. Choco phirni and fritter snacks were developed by incorporating PFMF and PPMF. Sensory scores of the products revealed that 10% incorporation of all developed food products were best accepted. Thus incorporation of processed finger and pearl millets in developed food products helped in improving the nutrient contents and thus is a good alternative for celiac patients.

A pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) based instant beverage powder (PMIBP) was prepared from two different varieties of pearl millet (Agrigreen (AgG) and Babala (Ba)) by a combination of malting and extrusion cooking. The millet grains were germinated (30oC and 98% RH for 36 h), kilned (50oC for 48 h), cooled to room temperature, ground and stored in a chiller at 5oC until used. The raw and malted pearl millet grains were extruded under different parameters to accommodate the types of pre-treatment applied to the pearl millets. Combination processing of the pearl millet grain was achieved by extrusion of malted pearl millet of both varieties individually, and as a mixture of raw and malted pearl millet (50:50). The effect of the processing methods on the physical, functional, nutritional and biochemical properties of the raw and processed pearl millets varieties were evaluated. Combination processing led to a significant (p ≤ 0.05) decrease in total fat and total dietary fibre (TDF) (3.85 and 22.99 g/100 g, respectively) content of AgriGreen (AgG) extruded malted pearl millet (EMPM); a decrease in TDF (18.12 g/100 g) content of AgG extruded raw pearl millet-malted pearl millet mix (ERPMMPM). Combination processing led to a decrease in ash, total fat, total dietary fibre, Fe and Zn (1.76, 3.48, 14.26 g/100 g, 7.78 and 4.74 mg/100 g, respectively) content of Babala (Ba) EMPM. It also led to a significant (p ≤ 0.05) decrease in ash, total fat, TDF, Fe and Zn (1.88, 4.22, 21.71 g/100 g, 7.24 and 4.14 mg/100 g, respectively) content of Ba ERPMMPM. Regardless of the pearl millet variety, malting led to a significant (p ≤ 0.05) decrease in moisture, total, saturated, mono- and polyunsaturated fats, total dietary fibre iron, zinc and protein digestibility; a significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in total carbohydrates, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity (TEAC) and water solubility index. Extrusion however, led to a significant (p ≤ 0.05) decrease in total dietary fibre, zinc, total phenolic content and protein digestibility; a significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in ash, total, saturated and monounsaturated fats, total carbohydrates, iron, starch digestibility water absorption index (WAI) and water solubility index (WSI). The beverages of 10% total solids (8% pearl millet + 2% sugar for taste) prepared from the processed pearl millet were offered to an untrained consumer panel consisting of students and staff of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, under similar sets of conditions in a sensory evaluation room at the Food Technology Department. The following characteristics of the products were rated and scored on a 9-point hedonic scale (1 – like extremely and 9 – dislike extremely): appearance, colour, aroma, flavour, mouth-feel and overall acceptability. In general, Ba RPM was rated 4 - like slightly, and AgG malted pearl millet (MPM) was rated 6 - dislike slightly and all other pearl millet samples from both varieties were rated 5 - neither like nor dislike.

Foxtail millet is an excellent model crop for studying the biology of C4 photosynthesis, abiotic stress tolerance, and biofuel traits. In addition, grains of foxtail millet are rich in proteins, micro- and macro-nutrients, and other bioactive compounds. Being an old domesticated crop, foxtail millet has contributed to the development of human civilization and is still grown as a staple food, particularly in India and China. India is the largest producer of millets. However, the breeding technology used for foxtail millet is far behind that of major millets such as pearl millet and finger millet, and major cereals such as rice and wheat. Development of genomic resources is the first step toward improving the breeding strategies, which subsequently lead to the development of elite cultivars with higher yield and desirable agronomic traits. Much national and international effort has been invested in this regard to develop genetic and genomic resources and these have produced significant outcomes. In this context, the present chapter enumerates the genetic and genomic resources available for foxtail millet improvement. In particular, the chapter discusses the development of novel molecular markers, their application in genomics-assisted breeding, and the construction of integrated databases. In addition, the genes and families identified in foxtail millet which have relevance to growth, development, and stress response have also been summarized.