Harnessing Finger Millet to Combat Calcium Deficiency in Humans: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Humans require more than 20 mineral elements for healthy body function. Calcium (Ca), one of the essential macromineral, is required in relatively large quantities in the diet for maintaining a sound overall health. Young children, pregnant and nursing women in marginalized and poorest regions of the world, are at highest risk of Ca malnutrition. Elderly population is another group of people most commonly affected by Ca deficiency mainly in the form of osteoporosis and osteopenia. Improved dietary intake of Ca may be the most cost-effective way to meet such deficiencies. Finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.], a crop with inherently higher Ca content in its grain, is an excellent candidate for understanding genetic mechanisms associated with Ca accumulation in grain crops. Such knowledge will also contribute toward increasing Ca contents in other staple crops consumed on daily basis using plant-breeding (also known as biofortification) methods. However, developing Ca-biofortified finger millet to reach nutritional acceptability faces various challenges. These include identifying and translating the high grain Ca content to an adequately bioavailable form so as to have a positive impact on Ca malnutrition. In this review, we assess some recent advancements and challenges for enrichment of its Ca value and present possible inter-disciplinary prospects for advancing the actual impact of Ca-biofortified finger millet.

Genome‐wide association mapping and comparative genomics identifies genomic regions governing grain nutritional traits in finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.)

“…It is also a rich source of several essential amino acids and health benefitting MNs, phytochemicals, and vitamins (Puranik et al, 2017).…”

“…Amino acids like lysine and methionine are often scarce in plant food crops, but they are found in abundance in finger millet. When compared to other cereals, finger millet also contains high concentration of calcium (350 mg/100 g) in its grains and can be an inexpensive food to treat problems related to osteoporosis (Puranik et al, 2017).…”

Nutrients in finger millet and soil at different elevation gradients in Central Nepal

“…(Triticum aestivum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.)]-play a major role in human energy intake (Cakmak and Kutman 2018)and food security (Ceasar et al 2018); however, crops like finger millet have nutritional properties superior to these crops that can boost nutritional security (Puranik et al 2017) in developing countries like Nepal. Africa and Asia produce about 55% and 42%, respectively, of the world's finger millet (Bhagavatula et al 2013).…”

Nutritional Composition, Functional Properties and Food Applications of Millet Grains

“…Traditional methods of millet processing also include a method of spreading and drying the grains in the sun for a period of one week. Upon drying, the grains are stored in a bag and later used for the processing and manufacture of different food products [20]. Dried millet grains can be stored for more than 5-10 years, but a major hurdle is that the grains are very tiny and not easy to handle.…”