Millet Consumption Research Articles

Assessment of Dietary Intake and Nutrient Gaps, and Development of Food-Based Recommendations, among Pregnant and Lactating Women in Zinder, Niger: An Optifood Linear Programming Analysis.

Pregnant and lactating women in rural Niger are at high risk for inadequate intakes of multiple micronutrients. Thus, 24 h dietary recalls were conducted and analyzed for dietary intakes in this population (n = 202). Using linear programming analyses, micronutrient gaps in women’s diets were identified, food-based recommendations (FBR) to improve dietary micronutrient adequacy were developed, and various supplementation strategies were modelled. Energy intakes were below estimated requirements, and, for most micronutrients, >50% of women were at risk of inadequate intakes. Linear programming analyses indicated it would be difficult to select a diet that achieved recommended dietary allowances for all but three (vitamin B6, iron and zinc) of 11 modeled micronutrients. Consumption of one additional meal per day, and adherence to the selected FBR (daily consumption of dark green leafy vegetables, fermented milk, millet, pulses, and vitamin A fortified oil), would result in a low percentage of women at risk of inadequate intakes for eight modeled micronutrients (vitamin A, riboflavin, thiamin, B6, folate, iron, zinc, and calcium). Because the promotion of realistic FBRs likely will not ensure that a low percentage of women are at risk of inadequate intakes for all modeled micronutrients, multiple micronutrient supplementation or provision of nutrient-dense foods should be prioritized.

Millets’ Consumption Probability and Demand in India: An Application of Heckman Sample Selection Model

This paper aims to analyze the determinants of the choice probability of millet consumption and the demand for major millets at household level in India. For this, we used consumer expenditure survey data collected by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) for the years 2004–05 and 2011–12. Heckman sample selection model was used to estimate the functional relationship between household level characters and millet consumption as zero expenditure is encountered for many of the households in the data set. The analysis revealed that the prices of millets and other food commodities had statistically significant effect on both millet consumption probability and the quantity demanded of millets while per capita income was not an important determinant. It is confirmed that the millets continue to be treated as inferior goods in India. Besides, age of household head has a positive relationship with the millet consumption, whereas larger household size and higher educational level decreased the probability of millet consumption and quantity demanded.

Dietary inferences through stable isotope analysis at the Neolithic and Bronze Age in the southern Caucasus (sixth to first millenium BC, Azerbaijan): From environmental adaptation to social impacts.

Subsistence strategies are of great interest for understanding how prehistoric societies adapted to their environment. This is particularly the case for the southern Caucasus where relationships have been shown with the northern Caucasus and Mesopotamia since the Neolithic and where societies are alternately described as sedentary and mobile. This article aims, for the first time, to characterize human diets and their evolution using biochemical markers, from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age (sixth-first millenium BC), at Mentesh Tepe, a site in the middle Kura valley in Azerbaijan. The data set belongs to 40 humans, 32 domestic and wild animals, and 42 charred seeds discovered in situ and perfectly dated. Stable isotope analyses were performed, including (a) δ13 Cco and δ15 N for animal and human bone collagens and for seeds, and (b) δ13 Cap for human bone apatite. Almost all the data (25/31) suggest an increased contribution of cereals, lentils, and freshwater fish during the Neolithic, whereas afterwards, until the Late Bronze Age, all individuals consumed more animal proteins from their livestock. None of the biological criteria (age at death and sex) and burial types (mass/single graves) were found to be related to a specific diet over time. Comparisons with other isotopic data from contemporary sites in Georgia argue in favor of a wide variety of dietary sources in the vicinity of the Kura valley and for highly mobile populations. Clear evidence of millet consumption has only been found for the Late Bronze Age.

The Glucose-Lowering Effect of Foxtail Millet in Subjects with Impaired Glucose Tolerance: A Self-Controlled Clinical Trial

Foxtail millet has relatively low starch digestibility and moderate glycemic index compared to other grains. Since there are still no clinical researches regarding its long-term effect on blood glucose, this self-controlled study was conducted to investigate the glucose-lowering effect of foxtail millet in free-living subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Fifty g/day of foxtail millet was provided to enrolled subjects throughout 12 weeks and the related clinical parameters were investigated at week 0, 6 and 12, respectively. After 12 weeks of foxtail millet intervention, the mean fasting blood glucose of the subjects decreased from 5.7 ± 0.9 mmol/L to 5.3 ± 0.7 mmol/L (p < 0.001) and the mean 2 h-glucose decreased from 10.2 ± 2.6 mmol/L to 9.4 ± 2.3 mmol/L (p = 0.003). The intake of foxtail millet caused a significant increase of serum leptin (p = 0.012), decrease of insulin resistance (p = 0.007), and marginal reduction of inflammation. Furthermore, a sex-dependent difference in glucose-lowering effect of foxtail millet was observed in this study. Foxtail millet could improve the glycemic control in free-living subjects with IGT, suggesting that increasing the consumption of foxtail millet might be beneficial to individuals suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Conserving Millet with Potash : Towards a Dogon Epistemology of Materials

In a climatically challenging environment, over time, the Dogon in Mali (West Africa) have developed technical strategies to cope with the scarcity of food resources and conserve millet, their subsistence crop. Millet stalk ash and potash, produced by leaching and heating ashes, are commonly used for conserving millet in granaries as well as cooked foods. In light of the anthropology of techniques, and by using operational sequences as a core methodology for field data collection and analysis, this paper explores the traditional conservation techniques used by Dogon men and women in the village of Kani Komolé, located in the Tengu kan linguistic area. This approach focuses on the material aspect of this technical system of conservation: preservation and transformation are considered as a set of material practices involving generative materials such as millet potash, which is produced out of millet ashes obtained from the combustion of millet straws and shaft. Potash is considered both as a property of ashes and as the material that results from their transformation. Through an examination of processes used for the transformation of millet – including the use of fire – this collection of operational sequences highlights implicit forms of meaning such as belief systems about materials, the ritualization of tasks and symbolic aspects of the conservation techniques, which all form part of the Dogon definition and practice of conservation. In this perspective, this paper documents the Dogon’s conservation system, based on the social aspects of millet consumption and on the cereal’s temporality. In addition, this system stems from a Dogon epistemology of materials, based on the Dogon’s understanding of the material efficacy of millet potash – that is, this substance’s inherent power as a set of active properties with relation to healing, enhancing, neutralizing spells and preserving. In this perspective, by considering millet’s material relations within the broader daily social environment of the Dogon, this paper examines both what happens when Dogon men and women prepare food for the purpose of conservation, make it ‘preservable’, and the effect of potash on foodstuffs and on the people who consume them.

Cognitive Performance in Indian School-Going Adolescents Is Positively Affected by Consumption of Iron-Biofortified Pearl Millet: A 6-Month Randomized Controlled Efficacy Trial

BackgroundIron deficiency remains the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency globally, but few studies have examined how iron status relates to cognition in adolescents. Iron biofortification of staple food crops is being scaled up, yet it is unknown whether consuming biofortified crops can benefit cognition. ObjectiveOur objective was to determine the efficacy of iron-biofortified pearl millet in improving attention and memory in Indian school-going adolescents. MethodsA double-blind, randomized, intervention study was conducted in 140 Indian boys and girls, aged 12–16 y, who were assigned to consume iron-biofortified [Fe = 86 parts per million (ppm)] or conventional (Fe = 21–52 ppm) pearl millet. Hemoglobin, ferritin, and transferrin receptor (TfR) were measured and body iron (BI) was calculated at baseline and after 4 and 6 mo. Five measures of cognitive function were obtained at baseline and 6 mo: simple reaction time (SRT), Go/No-Go (GNG) task, Attentional Network Task (ANT), Composite Face Effect (CFE) task, and Cued Recognition Task (CRT). Intention-to-treat analysis was used. ResultsDaily iron intake from pearl millet was higher in those consuming biofortified compared with conventional pearl millet (19.6 compared with 4.8 mg/d). Effects on ferritin, TfR, and BI at 4 mo, and on TfR at 6 mo (all P < 0.05), indicated efficacy of biofortified pearl millet over conventional pearl millet in improving iron status. Compared with conventional pearl millet, the consumption of biofortified pearl millet resulted in greater improvement in attention (SRT, GNG, and ANT) and memory (CFE and CRT). Reaction time decreased twice as much from 0 to 6 mo in those consuming biofortified compared with conventional pearl millet on attention tasks (SRT: −123 compared with −63 ms; GNG: −67 compared with −30 ms; ANT double cue: −74 compared with −32 ms; all P < 0.01). ConclusionsConsuming iron-biofortified pearl millet improves iron status and some measures of cognitive performance in Indian adolescents. This trial was registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02152150.

Direct evidence from lipid residue analysis for the routine consumption of millet in Early Medieval Italy

Millets have been cultivated in Europe since the Late Neolithic but, beyond recording their presence, little is known about their use and context of consumption. As a C4 plant, the contribution of millet on diet can be readily identified through stable isotope analysis of human bones. Using this approach, however, previous studies have been unable to distinguish direct consumption of the cereal from the consumption of millet fed animals. Historical evidence suggests that the latter was common practice. To address this issue, we present the first direct evidence for millet consumption in Medieval period using organic residue analysis. Lipid were extracted from 45 pottery vessels from the Episcopal centre in Padua, Northern Italy dating from the 6th to 10th centuries AD. Miliacin, a biomarker for broomcorn millet, was present in many of the cooking vessels tested. Based on the co-occurrence of miliacin with other food derived lipids and the vessel typologies, we suggest that millet was a common culinary ingredient during the Early Medieval period in this region. The earliest evidence dates to the 6th c. AD and notably derives from deposits associated with high status occupation of the site, a surprising result given the common association of these crops as low-status or starvation foods in the historic periods. It is likely that millet was a common cereal staple in human diet during this period in North-eastern Italy and that its use was far less restricted than previously thought. More broadly, our study highlights the efficacy of combining organic residue analysis and stable isotope analysis of bone to relate culinary and dietary information of ancient populations.

Dentin isotopic reconstruction of individual life histories reveals millet consumption during weaning and childhood at the Late Neolithic (4500 bp) Gaoshan site in southwestern China

AbstractHere, we present results of a pilot project that measured δ13C and δ15N values in bone collagen (ribs and femora) as well as dentin serial sections to examine individual dietary life histories at a Late Neolithic (4500 bp) site known as Gaoshan Ancient City (高山古城) located on the Chengdu Plain in Sichuan Province, China. The isotopic data of the bones indicate that humans consumed C3‐based foods, which corresponds to the dominance of rice agriculture in this region. However, the isotopic data of the dentin serial sections of five individuals display much more positive δ13C values than those of the bones, strongly suggesting that millets (a C4 crop) contributed substantially to human diets during the weaning process and early childhood. Furthermore, the isotopic profiles of dentin sections of the first molars and canines demonstrate that the cession of weaning was individually variable and completed between ~2.5 and 4 years of age. Although limited in scope, this pilot study offers new evidence of millet consumption during human growth and development even though individuals relied on rice exclusively as adults. Moreover, our study provides another perspective with which to rethink the role that millets played during the development and spread of millet agriculture to the south of China in terms of cultural exchange and migration.

Antinutritional factors in pearl millet grains: Phytate and goitrogens content variability and molecular characterization of genes involved in their pathways.

Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is an important “orphan” cereal and the most widely grown of all the millet species worldwide. It is also the sixth most important cereal in the world after wheat, rice, maize, barley, and sorghum, being largely grown and used in West Africa as well as in India and Pakistan. The present study was carried out in the frame of a program designed to increase benefits and reduce potential health problems deriving from the consumption of pearl millet. The specific goal was to provide a database of information on the variability existing in pearl millet germplasm as to the amounts of phytate, the most relevant antinutrient compound, and the goitrogenic compounds C-glycosylflavones (C-GFs) accumulated in the grain.Results we obtained clearly show that, as indicated by the range in values, a substantial variability subsists across the investigated pearl millet inbred lines as regards the grain level of phytic acid phosphate, while the amount of C-GFs shows a very high variation. Suitable potential parents to be used in breeding programs can be therefore chosen from the surveyed material in order to create new germplasm with increased nutritional quality and food safety. Moreover, we report novel molecular data showing which genes are more relevant for phytic acid biosynthesis in the seeds as well as a preliminary analysis of a pearl millet orthologous gene for C-GFs biosynthesis. These results open the way to dissect the genetic determinants controlling key seed nutritional phenotypes and to the characterization of their impact on grain nutritional value in pearl millet.

5000 years of dietary variations of prehistoric farmers in the Great Hungarian Plain.

The development of farming was a catalyst for the evolution of the human diet from the varied subsistence practices of hunter-gatherers to the more globalised food economy we depend upon today. Although there has been considerable research into the dietary changes associated with the initial spread of farming, less attention has been given to how dietary choices continued to develop during subsequent millennia. A paleogenomic time transect for 5 millennia of human occupation in the Great Hungarian Plain spanning from the advent of the Neolithic to the Iron Age, showed major genomic turnovers. Here we assess where these genetic turnovers are associated with corresponding dietary shifts, by examining the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of 52 individuals. Results provide evidence that early Neolithic individuals, which were genetically characterised as Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, relied on wild resources to a greater extent than those whose genomic attributes were of typical Neolithic European farmers. Other Neolithic individuals and those from the Copper Age to Bronze Age periods relied mostly on terrestrial C3 plant resources. We also report a carbon isotopic ratio typical of C4 plants, which may indicate millet consumption in the Late Bronze Age, despite suggestions of the crop’s earlier arrival in Europe during the Neolithic.

Dukes, elites, and commoners: dietary reconstruction of the early medieval population of Bohemia (9th–11th Century AD, Czech Republic)

This study explored dietary behavior in the context of the developing medieval power centers of Bohemia (9th–11th Century AD, Czech Republic) with an emphasis on the dietary behavior of elites and the socio-economic stratification within the population of the central places. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic values were measured in collagen samples from 102 humans and 24 animals excavated from the sites of two castles representing the main power centers and their hinterlands. The Bayesian software package FRUITS was employed to estimate the caloric contribution of C3 and C4 plants, terrestrial animals, and freshwater fish. Statistically significant differences in the consumption of animal products and millet were observed between castle elites versus castle non-elite and hinterland samples. Among burial sites located outside the castle areas, substantial dietary variation in terms of both carbon and nitrogen was observed in males but not in females. These results suggest the deep socio-economic stratification within the population of centers. The notable consumption of millet was typical of the lower socio-economic groups buried outside the castle areas. The almost total absence of adult male skeletons at some sites was accompanied by the low contribution of animal products to the diets of the males present. The high dietary variation observed within the ducal family suggests either the rapidly changing position of the Přemyslids during the formation of the Bohemian state structure or the sharp increase in the influence of the Church in terms of elite dietary behavior.

Проблема появления земледелия на Верхней Оби по данным археологии и изотопного анализа

Stable isotope analysis is an important part of the interpretation process in modern archaeological studies, yet, it is not routinely applied to a sufficient extent. In the south of Western Siberia, isotope analysis has only recently begгan to be used. The research region belongs to the area where the societies of hunters and fishermen were formed in the Neolithic. In its northern (taiga) part they continued their existence until the modern period, while for the southern (steppe and forest-steppe) part the emergence of pastoral economy has been suggested for the Bronze Age, and its final formation for the Early Iron Age. Such reconstructions are primarily based on palaeozoological analysis and assessment of work tools, but the latest data shows the evolution of the subsistence of ancient societies in the south of Western Siberia in new light. The diet of the Neolithic to the Bronze Age populations of Altai was predominantly based on the C3 foodchains, but at least three people from three graves of the Ob River region in Altai (sites of Firsovo-14 and Plotinnaya) show C4 signal. The latter indicates the consumption of millet in the 14th–10th c. BC, which could be related to both its local cultivation, and import into the Irmen Culture region from the 14th c. BC. As a farmed crop, millet could have come to the area from Kazakhstan or the Minusinsk Basin. Findings of archaeobotanical materials (wheat and millet) have been recorded previously for the Late Bronze Age site of Milovanovo in Ob River region near Novosibirsk.

An abrupt or gradual dietary shift: Comments on the paper by

The paper “Human diets during the social transition from territorial states to empire: Stable isotope analysis of human and animal remains from 770 BCE to 220 CE on the Central Plains of China” by Zhou et al. (2017) presents the isotope data of bone collagen from two sites in Henan and discusses wheat and millet consumption since 5000BCE. In this comment, some questions about their data interpretations are raised, and an alternative scenario for the reason of wheat consumption is offered.

Effect of iron and zinc-biofortified pearl millet consumption on growth and immune competence in children aged 12–18 months in India: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

IntroductionBiofortified crops represent a sustainable agricultural solution for the widespread micronutrient malnutrition in India and other resource-limited settings. This study aims to investigate the effect of the consumption of foods...

Minimizing risk on the margins: Insights on Iron Age agriculture from stable isotope analyses in central Croatia

Highlights: - Significant millet consumption in Lika as early as Middle Bronze Age, ca. 1400 BCE - Bayesian mixing-model shows millet important part of diet regardless of age, sex. - Consumption levels of millet remain similar for over a millennium. - Millet cultivation a risk-buffering adaptation to unpredictable Lika environment.

Paleodietary Analysis of Humans in Guanzhong Basin, Shaanxi Province Since 8000 BP

AbstractWe identified human paleodietary changes from inhabitants of the Guanzhong basin since 8000 BP, based on published carbon and nitrogen isotopic measurements on bones, fauna and plant remains. We also directly measured 14C ages, δ13C and δ15N values from bones unearthed at the Zhouyuan site, west of Guanzhong, in order to reconstruct paleodietary changes of the ancient inhabitants. We found that during the Laoguantai period, animal foods were the main source of nourishment with supplementary plant-derived foods. After this period, plant-derived foods became the main food source, with supplementary animal sources. The development of dry farming led to increased consumption of foxtail millet and broomcorn millet. This trend persisted and marked a fundamental shift from hunting, gathering, and fishing to farming and animal domestication. The dietary trends of the ancient inhabitants also show pronounced regional differences through time. The use of domestic animals was proportionally higher in the eastern part of the Guanzhong region, while wild animals were more common in the west.

Isotopic evidence for the reconstruction of diet and mobility during village formation in the Early Middle Ages: Las Gobas (Burgos, northern Spain)

Strontium, carbon, and nitrogen isotopes of human bone and tooth remains have been used to reconstruct residential mobility and diet of early medieval populations at Las Gobas from the sixth to eleventh centuries. Most non-local individuals correspond to the tenth to eleventh centuries and were mostly women and infants. This residential mobility coincided with the formation of Lano village and the abandonment of artificial cave settlement. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen indicate an omnivorous homogenous diet based on terrestrial plant resources, with few animal-derived proteins from livestock. Millet consumption was restricted to an earlier period of time (seventh to ninth centuries); and in later periods (tenth to eleventh centuries), mainly C3 plants such as wheat and barley were consumed. In general, there were no dietary differences between individuals according to sex or age. Sex-related dietary differences have only been observed in the tenth to eleventh centuries, when females consumed a more vegetarian diet and less animal protein. The higher δ 15N values in infants reflect the weaning effect, while the differences in δ 15N values between young adult men and young adult women can be explained as a physiological factor related to pregnancy or different origins. In a comparison with contemporaneous medieval populations in the northern Iberian Peninsula, both δ 13C and δ 15N values suggest similar foodstuff resources and diet among Christian and Muslim populations.

Tianshanbeilu and the Isotopic Millet Road: reviewing the late Neolithic/Bronze Age radiation of human millet consumption from north China to Europe.

The westward expansion of human millet consumption from north China has important implications for understanding early interactions between the East and West. However, few studies have focused on the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the vast geographical area directly linking the ancient cultures of the Eurasian Steppe and the Gansu Corridor of China. In this study, we present the largest isotopic investigation of Bronze Age China (n = 110) on material from the key site of Tianshanbeilu, in eastern Xinjiang. The large range of δ13C values (–17.6‰ to –7.2‰; –15.5 ± 1.2‰) provides direct evidence of unique dietary diversity and consumption of significant C4 resources (millets). The high δ15N results (10.3‰ to 16.7‰; 14.7 ± 0.8‰) likely reflect sheep/goat and wild game consumption and the arid climate of the Taklamakan Desert. Radiocarbon dates from four individuals indicate Tianshanbeilu was in use between 1940 and 1215 cal bc. The Tianshanbeilu results are then analysed with respect to 52 Bronze Age sites from across Eurasia, to investigate the spread and chronology of significant human millet consumption and human migration. This isotopic survey finds novel evidence that the second millennium bc was a dynamic period, with significant dietary interconnectivity occurring between north China, Central Asia and Siberia. Further, we argue that this ‘Isotopic Millet Road’ extended all the way to the Mediterranean and Central Europe, and conclude that these C4 dietary signatures of millet consumption reflect early links (migration and/or resource transfer) between the Bronze Age inhabitants of modern-day China and Europe.

Hunter-gatherer specialization in the late Neolithic of southern Vietnam – The case of Rach Nui

Rach Nui is a late Neolithic settlement of hunter-gatherers in southern Vietnam. However, the site also has a series of mortared floors corresponding to a sedentary lifestyle, where the inhabitants continued to live in the same area and repaired or replaced their floors over a period of 150 years. The inhabitants relied on a mixed economy that included domesticated and gathered plants, as well as hunted and managed animals. Although, there is evidence for the consumption of domesticated rice and foxtail millet, the inhabitants were mainly hunter-gatherers who relied on their surrounding mangrove and swamp forest habitats for most of their food requirements. From the archaeobotanical work done, it appears that the domesticated cereals, rice and foxtail millet, found at the site were imported. On the other hand, sedge nutlets and parenchyma were identified in high frequencies and were probably locally sourced, suggesting that foraging and/or vegeculture played a major role in the economy of Rach Nui.

Resilience and local dietary adaptation in rural Poland, 1000–1400 CE

In Europe during the medieval period, new constraints were introduced to the balance of people’s food production, distribution and consumption. As a proxy indicator of diet, stable isotope ratios from osseous remains offer a window into past human lifeways and the adoption of new dietary regimes. We report stable carbon and nitrogen isotope results of a large diachronic study of skeletons from Poland’s Pomeranian region in the Vistula River valley, using concepts of resilience, agency, and transition in bioarchaeological research frameworks to explain pace of diet change and intra-population variations in diet. Two skeletal samples are from 10 to 13th century Kałdus, an economic center of the early Piast dynasty, and two are from 12 to 14th century Gruczno, a neighboring agricultural village. Humans exhibit a mean δ15N value of 9.8±0.9‰, a mean δ13Ccoll value of −19.4±0.9‰, and a mean δ13Cap value of −12.74±1.30‰. Despite similar time periods and shared geographic region, Kałdus and Gruczno differ markedly in terms of fish and millet consumption. Diet does not change according to expectations based on the Christianization, urbanization, and marketization of Poland at this time. Rather than broad national trends affecting what people ate, more significant influences on diet appear to have been local sociodemographic conditions, to which people adjusted in ways that enabled them to retain fundamental aspects of their daily lives spanning the medieval period.