Review of Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn): A power house of health benefiting nutrients

Abstract

The bulk of the world's millet crop is produced by India, Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, and China. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn), little millet (Panicum sumatrense Roth ex Roem. & Schult.), foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauvois) and proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) are most commonly found species among various millet varieties. In India, finger millet occupy the largest area under cultivation among the small millets. Finger millet stands unique among the cereals such as barley, rye and oats with higher nutritional contents and has outstanding properties as a subsistence food crop. It is rich in calcium (0.34%), dietary fiber (18%), phytates (0.48%), protein (6%–13%) minerals (2.5%–3.5%), and phenolics (0.3%–3%). Moreover, it is also a rich source of thiamine, riboflavin, iron, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine and other essential amino acids. The abundance of these phytochemicals enhances the nutraceutical potential of finger millet, making it a powerhouse of health benefiting nutrients. It has distinguished health beneficial properties, such as anti-diabetic (type 2 diabetes mellitus), anti-diarrheal, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, antitumerogenic (K562 chronic myeloid leukemia), atherosclerogenic effects, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. © 2016 Beijing Academy of Food Sciences