NUTRITIONAL AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF WONDER GRAIN - FINGER MILLET (ELEUSINE CORACANA L.GAERTN)

Abstract Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is a staple crop in Africa as well as in India and considered as one of the minor and oldest cereal grains in the Indian sub-continent. It is important staple food in India for people of low income group because of its ability to survive in less fertile soil, resistance to pest and diseases, drought resistance and require short growing season where other crops gives poor yield. Nutritionally it is a very good source of dietary fiber, micronutrients, polyphenols and also rich in calcium, phytates, proteins. Other cereal crops provide food security but crop like Finger millet provide nutritional security. These nutritional properties are also associated with some health benefits as it has anti-diabetic, anti-tumerogenic, atherosclerogenic effects, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. It is specially recommended as wholesome food for diabetic patients and regular consumption of finger millet is known to reduce the risk of diabetes mellitus and gastrointestinal tract disorders because of its high fiber content. It is also well documented that Phenolic constituents in finger millet were found to inhibit cataract effectively due to its strong inhibitory effects on aldose reductase activity. Finger millet crop has good nutraceutical and pharmaceutical values but still this crop is not well explored as compared to other cereals such as rice, wheat, maize, etc. This paper deals with nutritional and health benefits of Finger millet so that it helps the future generation to make it a novel crop for healthy living