Significance of small millets in nutrition and health-A review

Abstract

Small millets are a group of six crops comprising of finger millet, kodo millet, little millet, foxtail millet, barnyard millet and proso millet. They are considered as nutri- cereals and are source of food, feed and fodder. The crops are grown in a variety of agro-ecological situations including plains, coast and hills as well as in diverse soils and varying rainfall. They are known for resilience and drought enduring capacity and are relatively less prone to major pests and diseases. The richness in calcium, dietary fiber, polyphenol and protein contents in millets make them unique among the cereals. Generally, millets show significant amounts of amino acids like methionine and cystine and also have high fat content than rice and maize. Millets have nutraceutical properties in the form of antioxidants which prevent deterioration of human health such as lowering blood pressure, risk of heart disease, prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, decreasing tumor cases etc. The contribution of millets to national food security and their potential health benefits, millet grain is now receiving increasing interest from food scientists, technologists and nutritionists.