Recent Interventions for Promoting Millets as Functional Foods

What is it about?

The review emphasizes the nutritional values, health benefits, processing techniques, and genomic advancements of millets. In addition, it proposes a roadmap for enhancing the utility and commercialization of millets.

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Why is it important?

Several crops, including millets with immense nutritional and therapeutic values, were once a part of our regular diet. However, due to domestication and selection pressures, many of them have become marginally cultivated crops confined to a particular region, race, or locality. Millets are a perfect example of neglected species that have the potential to address both food and nutritional insecurities prevalent among the ever-growing global population. Starvation and malnutrition contribute to a large number of health-related issues, being the main reason behind the occurrence of the most severe diseases worldwide. These constraints are repeatedly disturbing both the social and economic health of global society. Naturally, millets are rich in minerals, nutrients, and bioactive compounds, and these crops are less dependent on synthetic fertilizers, systemic irrigation, and pest/weed control.