Tef: The Rising Ancient Cereal: What do we know about its Nutritional and Health Benefits?

Abstract

This review covers the nutritional significance of tef cereal as compared to other common cereals with emphasis on carbohydrate content and starch digestibility, protein content, iron and zinc bioavailability and antioxidant potentials. Tef is a gluten free cereal and contains the highest iron and calcium among other cereals. It has high micro- and macro- nutritional profile and is becoming globally popular in the healthy grain food chain. Tef starch has a high gelatinization temperature, an essential precondition in the preparation of low glycemic index foods. There are significantly conflicting reports of iron content of tef ranging from 5 to 150 mg/100 g dm. The traditional fermentation of injera reduced majority of the phytic acid but no significant change to mineral bioavailability was observed. This review indicated that studies on starch digestibility, protein characterization, amylase and protease inhibitors, mineral bioavailability and antioxidant potentials are needed to further explore the nutritional and health benefits of tef.

Development of healthy gluten-free crackers from white and brown tef (Eragrostis tef Zucc.) flours

“…The results showed significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher total phenol content on tef flours (56.50–74.53 mg GAE/100 g) compared to rice flours (21.13 mg GAE/100 g). In addition, higher values were observed in white tef, compared to the brown, results in agreement with those found by other authors (Forsido et al., 2013; Salawu et al., 2014; Shumoy and Raes, 2017). These authors reported higher soluble phenolic content in white tef varieties, while brown varieties showed higher bound and total phenolic content.…”

“…Other differences found are associated to the presence of apigenin glycosides in white tef, while luteolin glycosides are present in brown tef. Shumoy and Raes (2017) observed significant differences in the phenolic profiles of seven varieties studied, although some common characteristics were also reported, such as the important percentage of bound phenolic compounds (over 84%), or the lack of gallic, caffeic and salicylic acids. Its antioxidant properties contribute on the reduction of adipose tissue and inflammation processes among others (Lemecha et al., 2018).…”

“…Tef ( Eragrostis tef ) has a big potential as flour ingredient for healthy and functional foods (Belay et al., 2009; Shumoy and Raes, 2017; Mengesha, 1966). One of the main advantages of tef flour is its gluten-free characteristic, which allows its inclusion on celiac disease patients’ diets (Hopman et al., 2008); when compared with the two most used flours in gluten-free products, i.e.…”

“…Refined grains tend to have a higher glycacemic index (GI) than non-refined grains (Jenkins et al., 1997; Hager et al., 2013; Brand-Miller et al., 2008). Tef has a high gelatinization temperature, which determines partially its low GI (Shumoy and Raes, 2017).…”

Pollen Study in Two Improved Varieties of Manihot esculenta Crantz

“…Recently, teff has been recognized and is highly appreciated as a 'superfood' (Baye, 2015;Heuzé et al, 2016;Shumoy and Raes, 2017). It is relatively rich in protein, ranging from 8.4-19.4% of dry matter, depending on the cultivar, location, and year (CGIAR, 2009), but is gluten-free, and therefore considered an excellent solution for the increasing gluten-sensitive population worldwide (Baye, 2015).…”