Vol. 8, Issue 4 (2019)

Author(s):
Teena Rathore, Rakhi Singh, Dinkar B Kamble, Ashutosh Upadhyay and S Thangalakshmi

Abstract:
Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is one of the rich sources of nutrients compared to other minor cultivated cereal crops. It contains dietary fiber (18%), calcium (344 mg/100g), tannins (0.04-3.47%), phytate (0.48%), oxalate (0.27%), cyanide (0.17%), saponins (0.36%), phenolics (0.3–3%) and polyphenols. It is also a rich source of amino acids (isoleucine, phenylalanine, leucine and methionine), minerals (calcium, phosphorous and iron) and vitamin including B (1.71 mg) and E (22 mg). Due to its high dietary nutritional content, it can provides numerous health as well as and medicinal benefits such as the anticipation of diabetes (Type 2 diabetes mellitus), anti-inflammatory, anti-tumerogenic (K562 chronic myeloid leukemia), antiulcer, atherosclerogenic effects, antimicrobial, anti-diarrheal and antioxidant capacity. Finger millet is crop reasonably sustainable for poor segment of the world’s population. However, existence of anti-nutrients (Tannins, phytat & polyphenols) could reduce the accessibility of nutrients which restrict the application of finger millet in food preparations. Anti-nutritional factors can be reduced to permissible limits with the application of certain pre-treatments like roasting, soaking, boiling, parboiling, fermentation, milling, germination, decortications, and extrusion cooking. Pretreatments improves millet quality which could be beneficial in formulation of various value added food product such as pasta, vermicilli, noodles, papads, soups, Indian sweets (Halwa) and bakery items. Therefore, this review focuses on health benefits, value addition through processing technologies and its impact on properties of finger millet.