Abstract
Abstract Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) also known as tamba, is a staple cereal grain in some parts of the world with low income population. The grain is characterized by variations in colour (brown, white and light brown cultivars); high concentration of carbohydrates, dietary fibre, phytochemicals and essential amino acids; presence of essential minerals; as well as a gluten-free status. Finger millet (FM) in terms of nutritional composition, ranks higher than other cereal grains, though the grain is extremely neglected and widely underutilized. Nutritional configuration of FM contributes to reduced risk of diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure and gastro-intestinal tract disorder when absorbed in the body. Utilization of the grain therefore involves traditional and other processing methods such as soaking, malting, cooking, fermentation, popping and radiation. These processes are utilised to improve the dietetic and sensory properties of FM and equally assist in the reduction of anti-nutritional and inhibitory activities of phenols, phytic acids and tannins. However, with little research and innovation on FM as compared to conventional cereals, there is the need for further studies on processing methods, nutritional composition, health benefits and valorization with a view to commercialization of FM grains.
Highlights
The term millet is derived from the French word “mille’’ which means thousand, with a handful of millet containing up to 1000 grains (Shahidi & Chandrasekara, 2013)
Soaking is a process of adding distilled water to Finger millet (FM) grains until the grains are fully steeped in water and left for an overnight period at an ambient temperature of 30 to 60 °C
Processed foods obtained as a result of roasting of FM grains include weaning foods which increases the bioavailability of iron (Singh & Raghuvanshi, 2012; Thapliyal & Singh, 2015)
Summary
The term millet is derived from the French word “mille’’ which means thousand, with a handful of millet containing up to 1000 grains (Shahidi & Chandrasekara, 2013). Millet belongs to the group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains which are annual plants (Shiihii et al, 2011). The grain is widely cultivated in Africa using different names (Table 1). The total annual production of all millets worldwide is approximately 4.5-5 million tons (Table 2), with India alone producing about 2.5 million tons and some countries in Africa accounting for about 2 million tons of the grains (Mathur, 2012). Apart from India being its largest producer, FM is the oldest cultivated cereal crop in India and is referred to as “nrttakondaka”, named “rajika’’ or “markataka” which means dancing grain (Shobana et al, 2013).
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