Pearl Millet Essay

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The knowledge of physical properties of pearl millet is important in determining its suitability in food product development as well as designing equipment in handling of the millet. Bran rich fraction, a byproduct of pearl millet milling, was characterized by high WHC and OHC indicating its suitability as a bulking agent in functional food formulations. Germination of pearl millet resulted in lighter and finer flours with high bulk density, desirable attributes in infant/health food formulations (Florence et al 2014c)
Impact of processing on Protein – Decrease in protein content of pearl millet as a result of fermentation was attributed to the action of moulds and anaerobic bacteria, which degraded proteins and converted them to ammonia. However …show more content…

On the other hand studies have reported that fermentation increased the crude protein content of pearl millet flour (Fasasi 2009). Natural fermentation at 20, 25 and 30°C for 72 h brought about a significant reduction in phytic acid content and increased polyphenol content of pearl millet flour and an improvement in invitro protein digestibility (Neelam et al 1991). Ionizing radiation in combination with cooking reduced IVPD (Siddharaju et al 2002: Ravindran et al 1995). Higher protein digestibility after radiation treatment may be due to increased accessibility of the protein to enzymatic attack However; this effect could also be due to inactivation of proteinaceous antinutritional factors (Van der Poel 1990). Thus, protein digestibility may be decreased and/or increased without incurring amino acid destruction (El-Hakeim et al 1991). Therefore, it could be concluded that the radiation process offers a good treatment for …show more content…

Germination caused an increase in the total protein content in pearl millet. On the other hand, pearl millet malt had low protein content which could be attributed to the loss of low molecular weight nitrogenous compounds during the steeping process and rinsing of the grains during the process of germination. The increase in nitrogen solubility index during malting was observed which could be due to gradual degradation of reserve protein into amino acids and short peptides caused by elevating the levels of protease enzymes which caused an increase in IVPD. The increase in IVPD can be attributed to an increase in soluble proteins, due to partial hydrolysis of storage proteins by endogenous proteases produced during the germination process. Such partially hydrolyzed storage proteins are more easily available for pepsin attack (Bhise et al 1998). The decrease in anti-nutrients like phytic acid may have also contributed to the high levels of IVPD levels. Although a change in the amino acid profile was observed due to germination, the total amino acid content remained the same since the protein content did not change. However, the lysine content of one pearl millet variety (SDMV 91018) increased throughout germination. The difference in lysine content could be due to slight differences

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