Minor Millets Research Articles

Modifying the dough mixing behavior, protein & starch digestibility and antinutritional profile of minor millets by sprouting

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of sprouting (0, 12, 24, 36, 48 hr) on enzyme activity, protein solubility, dough mixing behavior, anti-nutritional components and in vitro starch and protein digestibility of minor millets. Sprouting decreased starch, fat, protein and ash contents while the dietary fiber content, amylase and protease activity significantly (p < 0.05) increased. Sprouting promoted a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in anti-nutritonal components like phytic acid and condensed tannin. The protein solubility enhanced that also resulted in improved protein digestibility (in vitro) of sprouted millets. Sprouting exerted a significant (p < 0.05) effect on mixolab dough rheology indicating a decrease in dough consistency (C1), peak and final viscosity whilst protein weakening and breakdown increased (p < 0.05). This process produced an increase in free glucose thereby improving rapidly digestible starch and increasing glycemic index. A significant (p < 0.05) reduction in resistant starch along with slowly digestible starch was promoted during sprouting. In conclusion, sprouting provides millet flours with modified nutritional quality and better technofunctional properties than the raw flours that may suggest their potential utilization in complementary food formulations and baked products.

Genome-Wide Population Structure Analyses of Three Minor Millets: Kodo Millet, Little Millet, and Proso Millet.

Developed genome-wide SNP marker data for kodo, proso, and little millet Marker data used to analyze genetic diversity Heritability results of various traits used to validate genetic data Millets are a diverse group of small-seeded grains that are rich in nutrients but have received relatively little advanced plant breeding research. Millets are important to smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia because of their short growing season, good stress tolerance, and high nutritional content. To advance the study and use of these species, we present genome-wide marker datasets and population structure analyses for three minor millets: kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum L.), little millet (Panicum sumatrense Roth), and proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.).We generated genome-wide marker data sets for 190 accessions of each species with genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). After filtering, we retained between 161 and 165 accessions of each species, with 3461, 2245, and 1882 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for kodo, little, and proso millet, respectively. Population genetic analysis revealed seven putative subpopulations of kodo millet and eight each of proso millet and little millet. To confirm the accuracy of this genetic data, we used public phenotype data on a subset of these accessions to estimate the heritability of various agronomically relevant phenotypes. Heritability values largely agree with the prior expectation for each phenotype, indicating that these SNPs provide an accurate genome-wide sample of genetic variation. These data represent one of first genome-wide population genetics analyses-and the most extensive-in these species and the first genomic analyses of any sort for little millet and kodo millet. These data will be a valuable resource for researchers and breeders trying to improve these crops for smallholder farmers.

Formulation, Development and Quality Assessment of Nutri-Rich Snack Food (Sev)

The study was carried out in the Department of Food Science and Technology, JNKVV, Jabalpur, MP, India with the objectives to develop the Nutri-rich snack food (Sev) based on Minor Millet, (Kodo) and to evaluate the sensory and nutritional quality of the product. Chickpea and soybean is an important legume with rich source of protein, and dietary fibre. Millets are nutritionally superior to other cereals. Minor millet Kodo is nutritious millet with the highest dietary fibre (14.3%) makes it ideal food. On the basis of present findings it was concluded that S3 (60:20:20 ratio of chickpea, Kodo and soy flour) was highest acceptable with respect to all sensory attributes like colour and appearance, taste, flavor, texture and overall acceptability and physical characteristics of final product with the nutritional value of carbohydrates, protein, ash, fat and crude fibre with the percentage of 52.16, 25.06, 2.80, 8.80 and 5.0 respectively. Functional properties are directly related to the quality of final product. In the present investigation high content of oil in the blends having high ratio of soy flour may develop off flavor. Thus it could not be used beyond the 20 percent.

Characterization of thermo-mechanical behavior of dough and starch digestibility profile of minor millet flat breads

Minor millets are underutilized grains but are gaining interest currently as functional foods. Six different minor millet powders (MPs) were supplemented with 12% exogenous vital gluten to explore and evaluate their potential to be used in flat breads. The thermomechanical properties using Mixolab indicated improvement in dough development time, stability, protein weakening, gelatinization temperature and reduction in peak viscosity, starch gelatinization rate and retrogradation of MPs on supplementing exogenous vital gluten than wheat flour. Dough water absorption enhanced and correlated positively with arabinoxylan (r = 0.82, p < 0.05) and dietary fiber content (r = 0.84, p < 0.05). Retrogradation studies demonstrated the positive role of exogenous vital gluten, dietary fiber and arabinoxylan in lowering starch retrogradation. The results indicated up to 49.73% higher slowly digestible, 81.63% more resistant starch, up to 41.49% less rapidly digestible starch and 11.55% lower predicted glycemic index for vital gluten supplemented millet powders demonstrating their potential for diabetic patients. The study concluded that preparation of flat breads could serve as an efficient means of delivering the functional and nutritional properties of minor millets.

Modulation in quality attributes of dough and starch digestibility of unleavened flat bread on replacing wheat flour with different minor millet flours

The dough characteristics and flat bread quality parameters were studied on replacing a part of wheat flour with different minor millets (finger, foxtail, barnyard, kodo, little, proso) in the proportion 3:1. The dietary fiber and phytic acid increased while damaged starch decreased on replacing wheat flour with millet flour. The millet flours lowered water absorption and dough stability however protein weakening, gelatinization temperature and peak viscosity during heating increased. Flat breads prepared from wheat millet composite flour displayed more shrinkage and bake loss and reduced puffing and starch retrogradation. Rapidly digestible starch and glycemic index lowered while slowly digestible and resistant starch increased significantly (p < 0.05) as a consequence of millet flour addition to wheat flour. Millets as whole flour can be utilized in formulation of food products having higher neutraceutical value by replacing a part of wheat flour with millet flours.

Influence of nutritional and antinutritional components on dough rheology and in vitro protein & starch digestibility of minor millets

The nutritional and antinutritional components of minor millets were correlated with mixolab dough mixing behavior and in vitro protein and starch digestibility. Total arabinoxylan (r = −0.53, p < 0.05) and dietary fiber (r = −0.66, p < 0.05) content significantly (p < 0.05) increased protein weakening. Peak viscosity negatively correlated with phenolic (r = −0.55, p < 0.05) content. The dietary fiber and phenolics suppressed retrogradation. Protein digestibility negatively correlated with tannin (r = −0.70, p < 0.05), phytic acid (r = −0.69, p < 0.05), phenolics (r = −0.79, p < 0.05), flavonoids (r = −0.72, p < 0.05) and total dietary fiber content (r = −0.84, p < 0.05). A positive correlation of resistant starch (RS) with total dietary fiber (r = 0.85, p < 0.05), phenolics (r = 0.89, p < 0.05), flavonoids (r = 0.83, p < 0.05), phytic acid (r = 0.43, p < 0.05) and tannin content (r = 0.79, p < 0.05) was observed. Millets predicted lower glycemic index than wheat and it was found to be negatively associated with the RS (r = −0.96, p < 0.05) and total dietary fiber content (r = −0.89, p < 0.05) and positively correlated (r = 0.98, p < 0.05) with rapidly digestible starch. The millets may be diversified for personalized nutrition and development of functional food.

Promoting minor millets for food and nutritional security

The term millet includes a number of small grained cereal grasses, According to the grain size, millets have been categorized as major millets which include sorghum and pearl millet and several small grained millets which include finger millet (ragi) foxtail millet (kangni), kodo millet (kodo), proso millet (cheena), barnyard millet (sawan) and little millet (kutki). Minor millets are borne on short, slender and grassy plants. They are mainly grown in arid, semi-arid or mountain zones as rainfed crops in marginal and sub-marginal soils. These cereals have the capacity of growing during adverse soil and climatic conditions and several of their cultivars are of short duration (60-80 days) producing about 0.5 t ha(-1) which is better than no crop. Some of the minor millets are ideal for contingency crop planning to take advantages of late receipt of rains, failure of the first crop due to unexpected long drought or even receding flood situations. They are amazing in their nutritional content. Compared to rice and wheat mineral content in small/minor millets is higher. While finger millet contains 30 times more calcium than rice and wheat, other minor millets contain at least two times more calcium than rice and wheat. Little millet and foxtail millet have a higher amount of iron. They are also have therapeutic qualities. Minor millets, being non-glutanous, therefore are used for people with gluten allergy. The fat content in minor millets not only provides energy but also aids in balanced proportions and is rich in methionine, cysteine and lysine. These are especially beneficial to vegetarians who depend on plant food for their protein nourishment. The grain contains high proportions of carbohydrates and dietary fibre which help in prevention of constipation, lowering cholesterol and slow release of glucose to the blood stream during digestion. Important vitamins viz., thiamine, riboflavin and niacin are present in higher quantities. However, it is also reported that cardiovascular diseases, duodenal ulcers and hypoglycaemia occur rarely in minor millet eaters. In spite of several health and economic benefits, minor millets are disappearing from the people's diet and farm soils due to the shift in food habits, rapid rate of urbanization, time and energy required to prepare minor millet based foods, poor marketing facilities and processing techniques. Mechanical polishing is well-known for rice, wheat and maize but for minor cereals this step is unknown. For instance, large scale imports of rice and wheat and policies to subsidize production of those crops had negative impact on the production of minor millets. Therefore, urgent attention must be given to the production and consumption of these minor cereal crops to ensure food and nutritional security throughout the country.

Phenomics and genomics of finger millet: current status and future prospects.

Diverse gene pool, advanced plant phenomics and genomics methods enhanced genetic gain and understanding of important agronomic, adaptation and nutritional traits in finger millet. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn) is an important minor millet for food and nutritional security in semi-arid regions of the world. The crop has wide adaptability and can be grown right from high hills in Himalayan region to coastal plains. It provides food grain as well as palatable straw for cattle, and is fairly climate resilient. The crop has large gene pool with distinct features of both Indian and African germplasm types. Interspecific hybridization between Indian and African germplasm has resulted in greater yield enhancement and disease resistance. The crop has shown numerous advantages over major cereals in terms of stress adaptation, nutritional quality and health benefits. It has indispensable repository of novel genes for the benefits of mankind. Although rapid strides have been made in allele mining in model crops and major cereals, the progress in finger millet genomics is lacking. Comparative genomics have paved the way for the marker-assisted selection, where resistance gene homologues of rice for blast and sequence variants for nutritional traits from other cereals have been invariably used. Transcriptomics studies have provided preliminary understanding of the nutritional variation, drought and salinity tolerance. However, the genetics of many important traits in finger millet is poorly understood and need systematic efforts from biologists across disciplines. Recently, deciphered finger millet genome will enable identification of candidate genes for agronomically and nutritionally important traits. Further, improvement in genome assembly and application of genomic selection as well as genome editing in near future will provide plethora of information and opportunity to understand the genetics of complex traits.

Growth and instability in area, production and productivity of major and minor millets in Karnataka

Growth and instability in area, production and productivity of major and minor millets in Karnataka

Transcriptome-wide identification of genes involved in Ascorbate-Glutathione cycle (Halliwell-Asada pathway) and related pathway for elucidating its role in antioxidative potential in finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.)).

Finger millet is being recognized as a potential future crop due to their nutrient contents and antioxidative properties, which are much higher compared to the other minor millets for providing health benefits. The synthesis of these nutritional components is governed by the expression of several gene(s). Therefore, it is necessary to characterize these genes for understanding the molecular mechanisms behind de novo synthesis of nutrient components. Apart from this, these important compounds could also serve as candidate genes for imparting stress tolerance in other crop plants also. In the present study, effort has been made to identify genes involved in Ascorbate-Glutathione cycle (Halliwell-Asada Pathway) and related pathway genes for elucidating its role in antioxidative potential mechanism through transcriptome data analysis. APX, DHAR, MDHAR, GR, and SOD have been identified as the key genes of the pathway in two genotypes GP-1 (low Ca2+) and GP-45 (high Ca2+) of finger millet with reference to rice as a model system, besides, 30 putatively expressed genes/proteins were also investigated. Furthermore, the sequences of identified genes were analyzed systematically; gene ontology (GO) annotation and enrichment analysis of assembled unitranscripts were also performed using Blast2GO. As a result, 49 GO terms, 5 Enzyme Commission (EC) numbers, and 2 KEGG pathway maps were generated. GO results revealed that these genes are mainly involved in two biological processes (BP), viz., oxidation-reduction process (GO:0055114) and cellular oxidant detoxification (GO:0098869), and showed oxidoreductase activity (GO:0016491). KEGG analysis showed that APX, DHAR, MDHAR, and GR are directly connected to biosynthetic pathways of secondary metabolites, mainly polyphenolic compounds (flavonoid, tannin, and lignin) involved in glutathione metabolism (KEGG:00480) and ascorbate and aldarate metabolism (KEGG:00053). While SOD, is indirectly connected and also has significant medicinal attributes and antioxidant properties. Moreover, Fragments Per Kilobase of transcript per Million mapped reads (FPKM) values were also calculated for expression analysis and found that the FPKM values of genes present in GP-1 are higher than that of GP-45. Thus, GP-1 genotype was found to have higher stress regulated gene expression in comparison to GP-45. Taken together, the present transcriptome-based investigation unlocks new avenues for systematic functional analysis of novel ROS scavenging candidate genes that could be effectively applied for improvising human health and nutrition.

A Modification and development of threshing unit for minor millets

Minor millets are small sized cereal grains belonging to the family Poaceae (Gramineae) are grown mainly in America, Japan, China and India. In India minor millet grown are finger millet, proso millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet and little millet. Threshing is based on the principle that, some impact is given on crops, the grains are separated from panicles, cobs and pods. The performance of the threshing unit with development of five different shapes of pegs for threshing small millet. small millet thresher was tested at two different speed 712 rpm and 1068 rpm. The highest threshing efficiency with disc shape peg of 99.57 % cleaning efficiency 98.64 % output capacity 19.68 kg/ha was observed. In disc shape peg seed damage negalible. The cost of operation was also minimum. On the basis of above the disc type pe is recommended for minor millet.

Development of threshing cylinder for small millets

India is the largest producer of many kinds of millets and most important minor millets in India are finger millet, proso millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet and little millet. Threshing is based on the principle that, some impact is given on crops, the grains are separated from panicles, cobs and pods. The performance of the threshing unit with development of five different shapes of pegs for threshing Kutki (little millet). Kukti millet was evaluated with an average moisture content of 13.4% wet basis and pegs was tested at two different speeds 712 rpm and 1068 rpm. The use of disc shape peg at 1068 rpm in plot size thresher for little millet at 13% moisture content (wb) with highest threshing efficiency 99.67 % highest cleaning efficiency 98.64 %, moderate output capacity 20 kg/ha, unthreshed grain percentage and seed damage was found 0 %. is recommended in view of minimum cost requirement, timeliness of operation, low cost of operation was achieved.

Millet a sustainable crop: Growth and instability in area and production of millets

The millet belong to a group of small size food grains, mainly grown around the world for food and fodder. In this paper an attempt has been made to analyse the trend in area and production of millets across country including Karnataka. India is the leading producer in the world millet production, followed by the African countries of Nigeria and Niger. Total food grain production in the country was of about 271.98 MT and cereals production was 44.34 million tonnes. The growth rate and instability index in millet’s area and production in India and Karnataka has been examined using secondary data for the period of 10 years, from 2006-07 to 2015-16. This study is confined to major millets (sorghum/ Jowar, Bajra and finger millet) and minor millets (referred as small millets). From the analysis it is found that all the millets sorghum, Bajra , finger millet and small millets had negative growth rate -4.02 per cent, -3.41 per cent, -1.47 per cent -5.68 per cent, respectively. Similarly the production growth rate of sorghum and small millets were found negative, bajra and finger millets had least positive growth rate. It is also found from the analysis that the instability index of millet area was lower than the instability index of millet production. It can be concluded that the declined growth rate of millet cultivation may be due to various factors like crop substitution, less awareness about the millet and its health benefits, low price to the millets compared to other crops. Including millets in everyday food routine can enhances the health benefits.

Characterization of Minor Millets (Panicum sumatrense and Eleusine coracana) for Trait Related to Moisture Stress Tolerance

Characterization of Minor Millets (Panicum sumatrense and Eleusine coracana) for Trait Related to Moisture Stress Tolerance

Effect of addition of different levels of β-glucan from minor millet on the functional, textural and sensory characteristics of cake premix and cake

β-Glucan is a fibrous polysaccharide and good source of soluble dietary fiber having multiple functional and medicinal properties. Functionality of β-glucan extracts was investigated followed by studying the characteristics of cakes containing 2.5–7.5% of this extracts. Yield, purity, foaming ability, DPPH activity, WBC and SP β-glucan extracts of germinated millets improved due to germination. The in vitro antioxidant activity of cake increased from 18.23 to 22.58% with increase in β-glucan level from 2.5 to 7.5%. The volume index of cake was improved with β-glucan addition up to 5.0% and decreased with further addition to 7.5%. TPA characteristics of the cake improved significantly with β-glucan addition where as firmness decreased with increase in β-glucan content. Panelists rated highly cake fortified with β-glucan levels up to 5.0%. The decrease in sensory score at higher β-glucan level could be attributed to the increase in gumminess, cohesiveness and decrease in resilience score. The L and b values of cake crust and crumbs decreased significantly whereas ‘a’ value increased significantly with increase in β-glucan levels. Overall, the addition of upto 5.0% β-glucan extract in wheat flour cake improved its physicochemical, textural, sensory and in vitro antioxidant characteristics.

Processing of minor millets: A review

Minor millets such as kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum L) and little millet (Panicum sumatrense) are smallseeded grasses that grow well in dry zones as rainfed crops under marginal conditions of soil fertility and moisture. These crops are cultivated with lesser inputs and are unique due to their short growing season. Millet grains are nutritious with good quality protein and are rich in minerals, dietary fiber, phyto-chemicals and vitamins. Millets occupy an important place in the diet of people in many regions of the world. Although these are nutritionally superior to cereals their utilization as food is still mostly confined to the traditional consumers and population of lower economic strata. The statistical documentation on various aspects of processing and utilization of minor millets is generally poor and mostly fragmented compared to major cereal grains such as rice and wheat. The climate change, water scarcity, population growth, inadequate access to enough food and absence of local agrofood systems present, there is a challenge to scientists and nutritionists to investigate the possibilities of producing, processing and utilizing the potential of minor millets as nutri-cereals. The husk on the minor millets is tightly attached with the endosperm thereby making its removal difficult during de-husking operation. Very small size of grains is another challenge in the husk removal process. One of the barriers to increase millet processing and its value-added products in our country is unavailability of efficient de-huskers. However the special features of the millets, their beneficial uses and health consciousness of the consumer have made food scientists and engineers to develop various food products and mechanize the processes. The present paper reviews the essential engineering properties such as physical and frictional properties, nutritional content, traditional and modern de-husking practices and value-added food products developed from millets.

A Nutrition Dense Additive for Processed food items

Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of death around the world according to WHO, with developing countries in the top of the list. The rise in lifestyle diseases can be blamed on tobacco use, poor diet and harmful use of alcohol. Main factors leading to emerging lifestyle diseases are- urbanization, changes in diet, reduction in physical activity, westernization of food system and shifting of food preferences from nutritious healthy food to high energy food products. In the presence research, a nutrient augmented food additive powder which could be used as a nutrition supplement was prepared. This powder can be added to ready-to-cook packages to fortify the nutrient condition of the same. For the development of powder main ingredients were minor millets, pulses, vegetables and nuts rich in fiber, protein, micronutrients and bioactive compounds. The composition of ingredients in additive was decided by preliminary sensory analysis. The developed food additive powder was added to two branded ready-to-cook products viz., soup and noodles. The statistical analysis revealed that the soup and noodles with the food additive was liked by 50-70% of the consumers tested. The food additive was also analyzed for crude fiber, protein, fat, carbohydrate and moisture content. Among these protein (18%) and fiber (5.5%) content was found to be significant. It was further tested for minerals like Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Sulphur, and Phosphorus which were found to be 31.35%, 22.3%, 31.28% and 8.7% respectively of % RDA value for Indians. Among the vitamins, Vitamin A was found to be 9.18 mcg/100g of the sample.

Rural households’ preferences for nutri-cereals supplied through public distribution system: a discrete choice experiment

The Public Distribution System (PDS) is one of the largest safety net programmes in India, set up to provide subsidised grains to the poor population. This paper examines the rural households’ preferences of specific attributes of millets supplied through the PDS. To assess their stated preferences, a Discrete Choice Experiment was conducted in the Sonipat district of Haryana and Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh in 2018. The sample included 100 respondents who hold BPL (below poverty line) ration card. In all, six attributes of millets, that is product type, form, price, quantity, frequency of supply, and substitution with existing products were identified and a D-efficient fractional factorial design was used to construct pairs of preferences over the existing foodgrains supply through PDS. Respondents’ preference for nutri-millets’ attributes was analysed using a mixed logit model. The results reveal sorghum as the most preferred choice, followed by pearl millet. The respondents expressed their strong preference for supply of nutri-millet flour at least once a month in addition to the existing provision of rice or wheat. Respondents are willing to pay Rs 6.57 more for sorghum and Rs 10.77 more for pearl- millet compared to other minor millets. The acceptance is higher if it is supplied as flour and the willingness to pay was Rs 5.83 more over the grain.

Suitability evaluation of minor millets in Ponnaniyar basin soils of Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu

Suitability evaluation of minor millets in Ponnaniyar basin soils of Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu

The relationship between rainfall characteristics and Proso millet (&lt;i&gt;Panicum miliaceum&lt;/i&gt; L.) cultivation in low country dry zone, Sri Lanka

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is a drought tolerant minor millet found in rainfed low input agricultural systems in Sri Lanka. This paper presents an analysis of characteristics of rainfall, of the onset, retreat and length of the ‘Yala’ growing season (March-September) and the relationship between rainfall and crop husbandry strat-egies in a Proso millet growing area. Daily rainfall data (1983-2015) obtained from Udawalawa, Sewanagala, Pelwatta, Thanamalwila and Kuda Oya meteorological stations were analysed along with information gathered from a survey of farmers. Among these 5 stations significant (p < 0.05) differences were found in retreat date, the length of the season and rainfall amount during the season. It was observed that onset date can be used to predict the season length with high accuracy (r = -0.7335, significant at p < 0.05). The selection of crops and the timing of crop management practices in the Proso millet growing area coincided with the distribution of rainfall. However, the yields reported by farmers (mean 1.18 t ha-1) are far below the expected potential (4 t ha-1). Soil moisture con-servation and water management strategies could be critical to reduce the risk of water-related damage in the susceptible flowering stage.