Abstract
Consumption of underutilised ancient crops has huge benefits for our society. It improves food security by diversifying our staple foods and makes our agriculture more adaptable to climate change. The Philippines has a rich biodiversity and many plant species used as staple foods are native to the Philippines. An example of ancient Philippine crops is the kabog millet, an ecotype of Panicum miliaceum. There is a dearth of information about its uses and properties; hence, in this study, the nutritional quality of kabog millet was evaluated. The total starch, % amylose, ash, dietary fibre, proteins, essential amino acid profile, phenolic acids, carotenoids, tocopherols, and the antioxidant properties of its total phenolic acid extracts were compared to four types of rice (white, brown, red, and black) and a reference millet, purchased from local Swiss supermarkets. Our analyses showed that kabog millet has higher total dietary fibre, total protein, total phenolic acids, tocopherols, and carotenoids content than white rice. It also performed well in antioxidant assays. Our results indicate that kabog millet is a good alternative to rice. It is hoped that the results of this study will encourage consumers and farmers to diversify their food palette and address food insecurity.
Highlights
Cultivating ancient crops has huge benefits for our society
We report here the nutritional quality of kabog millet compared to different rice types, and a reference millet
The total starch values of the whole and dehulled kabog millet samples were significantly lower than the rice samples and the reference millet
Summary
Cultivating ancient crops has huge benefits for our society. It improves food security by diversifying our staple foods, provides a greater range of options to address climate change, optimises land resources by cultivating soils unsuitable for the world’s major crops, promotes access to better nutrition for communities, especially in the developing regions of the world, and generates income opportunities for small- and medium-scale farmers [1]. The Philippines has a rich biodiversity and cultural heritage from its indigenous peoples. Many plant species used as staple foods, such as adlay (a type of grain), balayang (a wild banana), and landing (native tapioca) are native to the Philippines. The knowledge about their uses and cultivation is slowly being forgotten with the demise of indigenous cultures. An example of ancient Philippine crops is the kabog millet
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