| Peer-Reviewed

Millet Grain Processing, Utilization and Its Role in Health Promotion: A Review

Received: 7 July 2016     Accepted: 19 July 2016     Published: 12 August 2016
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

The enormously increasing population is raising needs for solving the problem of food scarcity. Researchers and nutritionists are working hard to find the cheaper and larger sources of nutrients to deal with this scarcity. Pearl millet, a staple crop is economically feasible for poorer section of the world’s population and works are going on for the improvement in the bio-accessibility of the minerals for increasing its utilization. Researches are proving pearl millet comparably better in nutritional quality with high protein content, energy, minerals like iron and zinc, vitamins, dietary fibre, less glycemic index and phytochemicals like antioxidants. New advanced techniques applied for post-harvest technology and value addition are giving out more products of wide acceptance in rural as well as urban areas. In relation with the nutritional quality, convenience of food uptake and other sensory properties, many food processing technologies have been developed. These techniques are widely used now-a-days and are milling, decortication, soaking, germination/malting, fermentation etc. These processes increase the nutritional value and are very effective in dealing with undernourishment problem and other food and health management practices. A large scale implementation of these technologies or commercialized use will increase the ease of adopting their products at wide scale. This type of commercialization will not only deal with the undernourishment problem but also will earn great profits for all the persons in chain from producer like farmers to the consumers but will require policy-support and campaign for health, ecological sustainability and nutritional benefits of the crop. So this review focusses on pearl millet’s high nutritional aspects, the post-harvest techniques potent for its improvement at large scale and the related health benefits to support the need at rural as well as urban level.

Published in International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences (Volume 5, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20160505.12
Page(s) 318-329
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Millets, Nutritive Value, Composition, Processing, Health Benefits

References
[1] Ahmed AI, Abdalla AA, El Tinay AH. 2009. Effect of traditional processing on chemical composition and mineral content of two cultivars of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum). J Appl Sci Res 5 (12): 2271–6.
[2] Almeida-Dominguez HD, Gomez MH, Serna-Saldivar SO, Waniska RD, Rooney LW, Lusas EW. 1993. Extrusion cooking of pearl millet for production of millet-cowpea weaning foods. Cereal Chem 70 (2): 214–9.
[3] Archana SS, Kawatra A. 2001. In vitro protein and starch digestibility of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) as affected by processing techniques. Nahrung/Food 45 (1): 25–7.
[4] Ashraf M. 1994. Breeding for salinity tolerance in plants. Crit Rev Plant Sci 13: 17–42.
[5] Balasubramanian S, Yadav DN, Kaur J, Anand T. 2012. Development and shelf-life evaluation of pearl millet based upma dry mix. J Food Sci Technol DOI: 10.1007/s13197-012-0616-0. Available from Springer [http://www.springerlink.com]. Posted January 21, 2012.
[6] Begum JM, Vijayakumari, Begum S, Pandy A, Shivaleela H and Meenakumari. 2003. Nutritional composition and sensory profile of baked products from finger millet.). In: Recent Trends in Millet Processing and Utilization, CCS Hisar Agril. Univ., Hisar, India, pp: 82-87.
[7] Beta T, Rooney LW, Waniska RD. 1995. Malting characteristics of sorghum cultivars. Cereal Chem 72 (6): 533–8.
[8] Bhaskaran V, Mahadevamma, Malleshi NG, Shankara R, Lokesh BR. 1999. Acceptability of supplementary food based on popped cereals and legumes suitable for rural mothers and children. Plant Foods Human Nutr 53: 237–47.
[9] Bouis HE. 2000. Enrichment of food staples through plant breeding: a new strategy for fighting micronutrient malnutrition. Nutrition 16: 701–4.
[10] CFTRI. 1985. Annual report 1984–85. Mysore, India: CFTRI. p. 11.
[11] Chandrasekher, G., Raju, D. S. & Pattabiraman, T. N. 1982. Natural plant enzyme inhibitors Protease inhibitors in millets. J. Sci Food Agric 33: 447450.
[12] Chowdhury S. & Punia D. 1997. Nutrient and antinutrient composition of pearl millet grains as affected by milling and baking. Nahrung 41 (2): 105–7.
[13] Cisse D, Diaham AT, Souane M, Doumbouya NT and Wade S. 1998. Effect of food processing on iron availability of African pearl millet weaning foods. International Journal of Food Science and Nut., 49 (5): 375-81.
[14] Dahlin K and Lorenz K. 1992. Protein digestibility of extruded cereal grains. Food Chemistry, 48: 13-18.
[15] Desai AD, Kulkarni SS, Sahoo AK, Ranveer RC, Dandge PB. 2010. Effect of supplementation of malted ragi flour on the nutritional and sensorial quality characteristics of cake. Adv J Food Sci Technol 2 (1): 67–71.
[16] Devaraju B, Begum M, Begum S and Vidya K. 2006. Effect of temperature on physical properties of pasta from finger millet composite flour. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 43: 341-343.
[17] Devi PB, Vijayabharathi R, Sathyabama S, Malleshi NG, Priyadarisini VB. 2011. Health benefits of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) polyphenols and dietary fiber: a review. J Food Sci Technol DOI: 10.1007/s13197-011-0584-9. Posted November 22, 2011.
[18] Dhankher N, Chauhan BM. 1987. Effect of temperature and fermentation time on phytic acid and polyphenol content of rabadi—a fermented pearl millet food. J Food Sci 52: 828–9.
[19] Dlamini NR, Taylor JRN, Rooney LW. 2007. The effect of sorghum type and processing on the antioxidant properties of African sorghum-based foods. Food Chem 105: 1412–9.
[20] Dykes L, Rooney LW. 2007. Phenolic compounds in cereal grains and their health benefits. Cereal Food World 52: 105–11.
[21] ElShazali AM, Nahid AA, Salma HA and Elfadil EB. 2011. Effect of radiation process on antinutrients, protein digestibility and sensory quality of pearl millet flour during processing and storage. International Food Research Journal, 18 (4): 1401- 1407.
[22] Elsheikh, E. A. E., I. A. Fadul and A. H. El Tinay. 2000. Effect of cooking on antinutritional factors and in vitro protein digestibility of faba bean grown with different nutritional regimes. Food Chem. 68: 211-212.
[23] Elyas SHA, El Tinay AH, Yousif NE, Elsheikh EAE. 2002. Effect of natural fermentation on nutritive value and in vitro protein digestibility of pearl millet. Food Chem 78 (1): 75–9.
[24] Eneche EH. 1999. Biscuit-making potential of millet/pigeon pea flour blends. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 54: 21–7.
[25] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1995. Sorghum and millets in human nutrition. FAO Food and Nutrition Series No. 27. Rome: FAO.
[26] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2007. Cultivation area of millets. FAO Area employed and cultivation Rome: FAO.
[27] Geetha R Mishra HN and Srivastav PP. 2012. Twin screw extrusion of kodo millet-chickpea blend: process parameter optimization, physico-chemical and functional properties. Journal of Food Science and Technology, DOI 10.1007/s13197-012-0850-5.
[28] GOI. 2008. Agricultural statistics at a glance. Department of Agriculture and Cooperation Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi.
[29] Gopalan and Deosthale. 2003. Nutritive value of Indian Foods, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad.
[30] Gotcheva V, Pandiella SS, Angelov A, Roshkova Z, Webb C. 2001. Monitoring the fermentation of the traditional Bulgarian beverage boza. Intl J Food Sci Technol 36: 129–34.
[31] Gupta N, Srivastava AK, Pandey VN. 2012. Biodiversity and nutraceutical quality of some indian millets. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sci [DOI: 10.1007/s40011-012-0035-z]. Posted May 30, 2012.
[32] Hadimani NA, Ali SZ, Malleshi NG. 1995. Physico-chemical composition and processing characteristics of pearl millet varieties. J Food Sci Technol 32 (3): 193–8.
[33] Hassan AB, Ahmed IAM, Osman NM, Eltayeb MM, Osman GA, Babiker EE. 2006. Effect of processing treatments followed by fermentation on protein content and digestibility of pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoideum) cultivars. Pakistan J Nutr 5 (1): 86–9.
[34] Hollington PA. 1998. Technical breakthroughs in screening and breeding wheat varieties for salt tolerance. In: Gupta SK, Sharma SK, Tyagi NK, editors. Proceedings of the National Conference on Salinity Management in Agriculture. Karnal, India: CSSRI. P 273–89.
[35] Hotz C, Gibson RS. 2007. Traditional food-processing and preparation practices to enhance the bioavailability of micronutrients in plant-based diets. J Nutr 37: 1097–100.
[36] Huang, M. T., and Ferraro, T. 1992. Phenolics compounds in food and cancer prevention. In: Phenolic Compounds in Food and Their Effects on Health II. ACS Symposium Series, 507: 8–34.
[37] Irén Léder. 2004. Sorghum and Millets, in Cultivated Plants, Primarily as Food Sources, [Ed. György Füleky], in Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), Developed under the Auspices of the UNESCO, Eolss Publishers, Oxford, U.K.
[38] Kamaraddi V and Shanthakumar G. 2003. Effect of incorporation of small millet flour to wheat flour on chemical, rheological and bread characteristics. In: Recent Trends in Millet Processing and Utilization, CCS Hisar Agril. Univ., Hisar, India, pp: 74-81.
[39] Kamath, M. V. & Belavady, B. 1980. Unavailable carbohydrates of commonly consumed Indian foods. J. Sci. Food Agric., 31: 194-202.
[40] Kaur KD, Jha A, Sabikhi L, Singh AK. 2012. Significance of coarse cereals in health and nutrition: a review. J Food Sci Technol DOI: 10.1007/s13197-011-0612-9. Available from Springer [http://www.springerlink.com]. Posted January 25, 2012.
[41] Kinsella, J. E., Lokesh, B., and Stone, R. A., Dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and amelioration of cardiovascular disease: possible mechanisms. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1990, 52: 1–28.
[42] Krishnamurthy L, Serraj R, Rai KN, Hash CT, Dakheel AJ. 2007. Identification of pearl millet [Penniseetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] lines tolerant to soil salinity. Euphytica 158: 179–88.
[43] Krishnan R, Dharmaraj U and Malleshi NG. 2012. Influence of decortication, popping and malting on bioaccessibility of calcium, iron and zinc in finger millet. LWT-Food Science and Technology, 48 (2): 169-174.
[44] Lai, C., and Varriano- Marston, E. 1980. Lipid content and fatty acid composition of free and bound lipids in pearl millets, Cereal Chem., 57, 271.
[45] Lestienne I, Buisson M, Lullien-Pellerin V, Picq C, Treche S. 2007. Losses of nutrients and antinutritional factors during abrasive decortication of two pearl millet cultivars (Pennisetum glaucum). Food Chem 100 (4): 1316–23.
[46] Li J, Chen Z, Guan X, Liu J, Zhang M, Xu B. 2008. Optimization of germination conditions to enhance hydroxyl radical inhibition by water soluble protein from stress millet. J Cereal Sci 48: 619–24.
[47] Liu J, Tang X, Zhang Y, Zhao W. 2012. Determination of the volatile composition in brown millet, milled millet and millet bran by gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry. Molecules 17: 2271–82.
[48] Maha AM Ali, Tinay AH and Abdalla AH. 2003. Effect of fermentation on the in vitro protein digestibility of pearl millet. Food Chemistry, 80: 51-54.
[49] Mal B, Padulosi S, Ravi SB. 2010. Minor millets in South Asia: learnings from IFAD-NUS Project in India and Nepal. Maccarese, Rome, Italy: Bioversity Intl and Chennai, India: M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. p 1–185.
[50] Malleshi NG and Klopfenstein CF. 1998. Nutrient composition and amino acid contents of malted sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet and their milling fractions. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 35 (3): 247-249.
[51] Mani UV, Prabhu BM, Damle SS, Mani I. 1993. Glycemic index of some commonly consumed foods in western India. Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr 111–4.
[52] Marcellino, L. H., Bloch, C., Gander, E. S. 2002. Characterization of pearl millet prolamins. Protein and Peptide Letters, 9, 237-244.
[53] Mugocha PT, Taylor JRN, Bester BH. 2000. Fermentation of a composite finger millet-dairy beverage. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 16: 341–4.
[54] Muthulisi S, Taylor JRN, de Milliano WAJ and Duodu KG. 2007. Occurrence and location of tannins in finger millet grain and antioxidant activity of different grain types. Cereal Chemistry, 84 (2): 169-174.
[55] National Institute of Nutrition 2003; Indian Foods Nutritional Value.
[56] Nirmala M, Subba Rao MVSST and Muralikrishna G. 2000. Carbohydrates and their degrading enzymes from native and malted finger millet (Ragi, Eleusine coracana, Indaf-15). Food Chemistry, 69: 175-180.
[57] Odusola KB, Ilesanmi FF and Akinloye OA. 2013. Assessment of nutritional composition and antioxidant ability of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum). American Journal Research Communication, 1 (6): 262-272.
[58] Parameswaran K, Sadasivam S. 1994. Changes in the carbohydrates and nitrogenous components during germination of proso millet (Panicum miliaceum). Plant Foods Hum Nutr 45: 97–102.
[59] Patel MM and Rao V. 1996. Influence of untreated, heat treated and germinated black flours on biscuit making quality of wheat flour. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 33 (1): 53-56.
[60] Pawar VD, Machewad GM. 2006. Processing of foxtail millet for improved nutrient availability. J Food Process Preserv 30: 269–79.
[61] Peacock JM, Soman P, Jayachandran R, Rain AU, Howarth CJ, Thomas A. 1993. Effects of high soil surface temperature on seedling survival in pearl millet. Exptl Agric 29: 215–225.
[62] Platel K, Eipeson SW, Srinivasan R. 2010. Bioaccessible mineral content of malted finger millet (Eleusine coracana), wheat (Triticum aestivum), and barley (Hordeum vulgare). J Agric Food Chem 58: 8100–3.
[63] Reddy, N. R., M. D. Pierson, S. K. Sathe and D. K. Salunkhe. 1989. Occurrence, distribution, content and dietary intake of phytate. In N. R. Reddy, M. D. Pierson, S. K. Sathe and D. K. Salunkhe (eds.) Phytates in cereals and legumes. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA. P. 39-56.
[64] Rooney LW, Awika JM. 2004. Specialty sorghums for healthful foods. In: Abdelaal E, Wood P, editors. Specialty grains for food and feed. St Paul, Minn.: AACC. P 238–312.
[65] Rooney, L. W., Sorghum and pearl millet lipids. Cereal Chemistry, 1978, 55: 584–590.
[66] Saleh ASM, Zhang Q, Chen J and Shen Q. 2013. Millet Grains: Nutritional Quality, Processing, and Potential Health Benefits. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 12: 281-295.
[67] Sandberg, A. S. 2002. Bioavailability of minerals in legumes. Br. J. Nutr. 88 (3): S281-S285.
[68] Scheuring, J. F. and Rooney, L. W. 1979. A staining procedure to determine the extent of bran removal from pearled sorghum. Cereal Chemistry 56: 545-548.
[69] Serna-Saldivar SO, Clegg C, Rooney LW. 1994. Effects of parboiling and decortication on the nutritional value of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.). J Cereal Sci 19 (1): 83–9.
[70] Serna-Saldivar, S. 0. & Rooney, L. W. 1991. Sorghum. In K. J. Lorenz & K. Kulp, éds. Handbook of cereal science and technology p. 233-269. New York, Marcel Dekker.
[71] Seth D and Rajamanickam G. 2012. Development of extruded snacks using soy, sorghum, millet and rice blend – A response surface methodology approach. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 47 (7): 1526-1531.
[72] Sharma A, Kapoor AC. 1996. Effect of various types of fermentation on in vitro protein and starch digestibility of differently processed pearl millet. Nahrung 40 (3): S142–5.
[73] Shivaraj, B. and Pattabiraman, T. N. 1981. Natural plant enzyme inhibitors: characterization of an unusual a-amylase/trypsin inhibitor from ragi (Eleusine coracana Gaertn.). Biochem. J., 193: 29-36.
[74] Shobana S, Singh RU, Malleshi NG and Ali SZ. 2007. Glycemic response of rice, wheat and finger millet based diabetic food formulations in normoglycemic subjects. International Journal Food Science Nutrition, 58 (5): 363-372.
[75] Shukla K, Srivastava S. 2011. Evaluation of finger millet incorporated noodles for nutritive value and glycemic index. J Food Sci Technol DOI: 10.1007/s13197-011-0530-x. Posted September 13, 2011.
[76] Singh BR, Singh DP. 1995. Agronomic and physiological response of sorghum, maize and pearl millet to irrigations. Field Crops Res 42: 57–67.
[77] Singh G. 2003. Development and nutritional evaluation of value added products from pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) [PhD thesis]. Hisar, Haryana, India: CCS Haryana Agricultural Univ.
[78] Singh KP, Mishra A, Mishra HN. 2012. Fuzzy analysis of sensory attributes of bread prepared from millet-based composite flours. LWT—Food Sci Technol 48: 276–82.
[79] Singh P, Raghuvanshi RS. 2012. Finger millet for food and nutritional security. Afr J Food Sci 6 (4): 77–84.
[80] Singh P, Singh G, Srivastava S and Agarwal P. 2005. Physico-chemical characteristics of wheat flour and millet flour blends. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 42 (4): 340-343.
[81] Siwawij S and Trangwacharakul. 1995. Study on sorghum snack production by extrusion process. Thailand J Agric Sci 28 (3): 253–61.
[82] Southgate, D. A. T., Hudson, G. J. & Englyst, H. 1978. The analysis of dietary fibre - the choices for the analyst. J. Sci. Food Agric. 29: 979-988.
[83] Suhendro EL, McDonough CM, Rooney LW, Waniska RD, Yetneberk S. 1998. Effects of processing conditions and sorghum cultivar on alkaline-processed snacks. Cereal Chem 75: 187–93.
[84] Taylor JR, Schober TJ and Bean SC. 2006. Novel and non food uses for sorghum and millets. Journal of Cereal Science, 44: 252-271.
[85] Torres PI, Ramirez-Wong B, Serna-Saldivar SO, Rooney LW. 1993. Effect of sorghum flour addition on the characteristics of wheat flour tortillas. Cereal Chem 70 (1): 8–13.
[86] Truswell AS. 2002. Cereal grain and coronary heart disease. Eur J Clin Nutr 56 (1): 1–4.
[87] Valencia, S., U. Svanberg, A. S. Sanberg and J. Ruals. 1999. Processing of quinoa (chenopodium quinoa, wild). Effects on in vitro iron availability and phytate hydrolysis. Int. J. Food Sci. Nutr. 50: 203-208.
[88] Verma V and Patel S. 2013. Value added products from nutri-cereals: Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) Emirates Journal Food Agriculture, 25 (3): 169-176; doi: 10.9755/ejfa.v25i3.10764.
[89] Wadikar D, Vasidish C, Premavalli K and Bawa A. 2006. Effect of variety and processing on anti-nutrients in finger millet. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 43 (4): 370-373.
[90] Whistler, R. L. & Paschall, E. F., éds. l 967. Starch chemistry and technology, Vol. 2, Industrial aspects. New York et Londres, Academic Press.
[91] Yenagi N, Joshi R, Byadgi S and Josna B. 2013. A hand book for school children: Importance of Millets in Daily Diets for Food and Nutrition Security. University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India, pp. 1-24.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Soumya Rathore, Karunakar Singh, Vivek Kumar. (2016). Millet Grain Processing, Utilization and Its Role in Health Promotion: A Review. International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 5(5), 318-329. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20160505.12

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Soumya Rathore; Karunakar Singh; Vivek Kumar. Millet Grain Processing, Utilization and Its Role in Health Promotion: A Review. Int. J. Nutr. Food Sci. 2016, 5(5), 318-329. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20160505.12

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Soumya Rathore, Karunakar Singh, Vivek Kumar. Millet Grain Processing, Utilization and Its Role in Health Promotion: A Review. Int J Nutr Food Sci. 2016;5(5):318-329. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20160505.12

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ijnfs.20160505.12,
      author = {Soumya Rathore and Karunakar Singh and Vivek Kumar},
      title = {Millet Grain Processing, Utilization and Its Role in Health Promotion: A Review},
      journal = {International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences},
      volume = {5},
      number = {5},
      pages = {318-329},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijnfs.20160505.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20160505.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnfs.20160505.12},
      abstract = {The enormously increasing population is raising needs for solving the problem of food scarcity. Researchers and nutritionists are working hard to find the cheaper and larger sources of nutrients to deal with this scarcity. Pearl millet, a staple crop is economically feasible for poorer section of the world’s population and works are going on for the improvement in the bio-accessibility of the minerals for increasing its utilization. Researches are proving pearl millet comparably better in nutritional quality with high protein content, energy, minerals like iron and zinc, vitamins, dietary fibre, less glycemic index and phytochemicals like antioxidants. New advanced techniques applied for post-harvest technology and value addition are giving out more products of wide acceptance in rural as well as urban areas. In relation with the nutritional quality, convenience of food uptake and other sensory properties, many food processing technologies have been developed. These techniques are widely used now-a-days and are milling, decortication, soaking, germination/malting, fermentation etc. These processes increase the nutritional value and are very effective in dealing with undernourishment problem and other food and health management practices. A large scale implementation of these technologies or commercialized use will increase the ease of adopting their products at wide scale. This type of commercialization will not only deal with the undernourishment problem but also will earn great profits for all the persons in chain from producer like farmers to the consumers but will require policy-support and campaign for health, ecological sustainability and nutritional benefits of the crop. So this review focusses on pearl millet’s high nutritional aspects, the post-harvest techniques potent for its improvement at large scale and the related health benefits to support the need at rural as well as urban level.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Millet Grain Processing, Utilization and Its Role in Health Promotion: A Review
    AU  - Soumya Rathore
    AU  - Karunakar Singh
    AU  - Vivek Kumar
    Y1  - 2016/08/12
    PY  - 2016
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20160505.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20160505.12
    T2  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
    JF  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
    JO  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
    SP  - 318
    EP  - 329
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2327-2716
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20160505.12
    AB  - The enormously increasing population is raising needs for solving the problem of food scarcity. Researchers and nutritionists are working hard to find the cheaper and larger sources of nutrients to deal with this scarcity. Pearl millet, a staple crop is economically feasible for poorer section of the world’s population and works are going on for the improvement in the bio-accessibility of the minerals for increasing its utilization. Researches are proving pearl millet comparably better in nutritional quality with high protein content, energy, minerals like iron and zinc, vitamins, dietary fibre, less glycemic index and phytochemicals like antioxidants. New advanced techniques applied for post-harvest technology and value addition are giving out more products of wide acceptance in rural as well as urban areas. In relation with the nutritional quality, convenience of food uptake and other sensory properties, many food processing technologies have been developed. These techniques are widely used now-a-days and are milling, decortication, soaking, germination/malting, fermentation etc. These processes increase the nutritional value and are very effective in dealing with undernourishment problem and other food and health management practices. A large scale implementation of these technologies or commercialized use will increase the ease of adopting their products at wide scale. This type of commercialization will not only deal with the undernourishment problem but also will earn great profits for all the persons in chain from producer like farmers to the consumers but will require policy-support and campaign for health, ecological sustainability and nutritional benefits of the crop. So this review focusses on pearl millet’s high nutritional aspects, the post-harvest techniques potent for its improvement at large scale and the related health benefits to support the need at rural as well as urban level.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Biochemical Engineering & Food Technology, Hartcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur, India

  • Department of Biochemical Engineering & Food Technology, Hartcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur, India

  • Department of Biochemical Engineering & Food Technology, Hartcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur, India

  • Sections