Proximate Composition of Minor Millets from Cold Semi-Arid Regions
Madhulika Esther Prasad1, Ishita Joshi2, Navin Kumar3, Pankaj Gautam4, Jyoti Chhabra5
1Madhulika Esther Prasad, Department of Biotechnology, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun (Uttarakhand), India.
2Ishita Joshi, Department of Food Science & Technology, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
3Navin Kumar, Department of Biotechnology, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun (Uttarakhand), India.
4Jyoti Chhabra, Department of Fashion Designing, Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun (Uttarakhand), India.
5Pankaj Gautam, Department of Biotechnology, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun (Uttarakhand), India.
Manuscript received on 16 June 2020 | Revised Manuscript received on 27 June 2020 | Manuscript Published on 04 July 2020 | PP: 86-93 | Volume-8 Issue-12S3 October 2019 | Retrieval Number: L100910812S319/2020©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.L1009.10812S319
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open-access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: The nutritional importance of minor millets growing in geographically and environmentally isolated semi-arid regions remains largely unexplored, which has led to it being underutilized for diet diversification. In this study, the proximate composition of three species of minor millets, namely, Barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea),Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and Foxtail millet(Setaria italica), grown in traditional millet cultivating regions (cold semi-arid) of the Himalayan range, have been analyzed. Two high altitude locations of contrasting cold temperatures in this region were selected for analysis. Dehradun which exhibits a temperature of 25-27℃, is located at 640 masl. (Meters Above Sea Level) in Uttarakhand West (UW), whereas, the second location, Pithoragarh which exhibits a temperature of 15-17℃ is located at 1514 masl. in Uttarakhand East (UE). The results of this study record a 30.75 percent increase in average protein content of Barnyard millet grains when the same seed stock was grown at the second region of lower temperature, i.e. Pithoragarh (15-17℃), as compared to Dehradun (15-17℃). A 42.66 percent increase in average fat content was also recorded for Barnyard millet grains when grown at Pithoragarh (15-17℃). The two other millet species, Finger millet and Foxtail millet, did not record significant differences in protein and fat contents, however, Foxtail millet displayed marginally increased levels of sodium and potassium. In contrast to the other components analyzed, Total Dietary Fiber (TDF) was found to decrease with growth at the comparatively colder location of Pithoragarh. A 36.71 percent decrease in TDF content was recorded for Barnyard millet, whereas, a 19.25 percent decrease was recorded for Finger millet. Foxtail millet displayed a marginal decrease of only 5.3 percent in TDF content with growth at Pithoragarh. Starch concentration and moisture content for all three species was also studied, but did not record any notable differences due to growth at the colder location of Pithoragarh. The results here indicate an important role of cold temperature and high altitude in regulating the proximate composition of minor millet grains. Studies which explore the proximate composition of millet cultivars in such geographically and environmentally distinct millet growing regions, may reveal new information regarding the nutritional importance of minor millets, and the ideal conditions of growth for maximum nutritional benefit.
Keywords: Millets, Proximate Composition, Cold Temperature, High Altitude.
Scope of the Article: Service Discovery and Composition