Ragi Traditional But Nutritional Especially in the Era of COVID-19

Finger millet is the name commonly used to denote the crop Eleusine coracana. It is known as Ragi in many parts of India, which is an important member of the family of cereals. In fact, it is superior to many cereals like wheat and rice in terms of its micronutrient content and bioavailability. Several indigenous processing techniques may be applied to finger millets allowing it to be processed into various value-added products, which may be better in appearance, taste, flavor and acceptability. Development of value-added products that contain Ragi as one of their major components can be beneficial for food and nutrition security of Indians. Ragi may contribute to solving the issue of micronutrient deficiency and nutrition security as it is an important source of micronutrients and can be easily incorporated in various recipes and value-added products. It can therefore be a part of various nutritional programs to enhance the nutritional density of foods.

Quality Characteristics of Chicken Meat Cutlets Incorporated with Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana) Flour

In view of continuously growing demand of snacks foods worldwide due to rapid changing lifestyle, industrialization and urbanization, the present study was conducted to standardize the incorporation level of finger millet flour for preparation of chicken meat cutlets. Chicken meat cutlets were prepared with different levels of finger millet flour viz. 5, 10, and 15%, and different levels by replacing the lean meat in chicken cutlets formulation. The optimum (mention) level of finger millet was standardized as 5% for incorporation in chicken meat cutlets. Crude fiber and calcium content of chicken cutlets prepared with finger millet flour was significantly higher as compared to control thereby depicting marked improvement in the desirable food trait with health benefits. The product yield of chicken meat cutlets with optimized level of finger millet flour was significantly higher as compared to control. It did not show significant effect on any of the sensory parameters. Storage stability of aerobically packaged chicken meat cutlets with optimum level (mention level) of finger millet flour along with control was further evaluated during refrigerated storage (4±1oC) at regular intervals of 0, 3, 6 and 9 days with respect to physico-chemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics. Chicken meat cutlets could be stored safely in aerobic packaging for 6 days at refrigeration condition (4±1oC).

Total Protein, Bilirubin and AST Levels in Rat Models Treated with Ethanolic Extract of Eleusine coracana during Arsenic Trioxide Induced Hepatotoxicity

Eleusine coracana is considered one of the most nutritious cereals. It has different names in local languages. It is known as Ragi in Telugu and Kannada/aariyam in Tamil, and Madua in Hindi and in Nigeria, it is known as Okababa in Yoruba, Dawa in Hausa, etc. This study sought to investigate the protective ability of ethanolic extracts of Eleusine coracana in Arsenic trioxide induced hepatotoxicity using rat models. Animals were grouped into four (4). Group A received only distilled water, in group B,C and D hepatotoxicity was induced using 5 mg/dl Arsenic Trioxide solution for 14 days, followed by treatment in group C and D daily with 200 mg and 500 mg per kg body weight respectively for 14 days, and changes in body weight and Liver Function parameters were determined. Eleusine coracana contains Tannins, phlobatannins,Falavonoids and Terpenoids but not Steriods and Saponins, Eleusine treated groups had a significant decrease in the organ-body weight index. The mean weight and Total Protein was significantly reduced in the intoxicated-untreated group (group B). The AST, direct and total Bilirubin level was significantly higher in group B compared to control and other treated groups. Eleusine cocarna as a plant and source of food contains certain phytochemicals which are capable of managing hepatic cell injury, this serve as a point for pharmacological intervention.

Transcriptome analysis of finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) reveals unique drought responsive genes

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.), an important C4 species is known for its stress hardiness and nutritional significance. To identify novel drought responsive mechanisms, we generated transcriptome data from leaf tissue of finger millet, variety GPU-28, exposed to gravimetrically imposed drought stress so as to simulate field stress conditions. De novo assembly basedapproach yielded 80,777 and 90,830 transcripts from well-irrigated (control) and drought-stressed samples, respectively. A total of 1790 transcripts were differentially expressed between the control and drought-stress treatments. Functional annotation and pathway analysis indicated activation of diverse drought-stress signalling cascade genes such as serine threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), calcineurin B-like interacting protein kinase31 (CIPK31), farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPS), signal recognition particle receptor α (SRPR α) etc. The basal regulatory genes such as TATA-binding protein (TBP)-associated factors (TAFs) werefound to be drought responsive, indicating that genes associated with housekeeping or basal regulatory processes are activated underdrought in finger millet. A significant portion of the expressed genes was uncharacterized, belonging to the category of proteins of unknown functions (PUFs). Among the differentially expressed PUFs, we attempted to assign putative function for a few, using anovel annotation tool, Proteins of Unknown Function Annotation Server. Analysis of PUFs led to the discovery of novel drought responsive genes such as pentatricopeptide repeat proteins and tetratricopeptide repeat proteins that serve as interaction modules in multiprotein interactions. The transcriptome data generated can be utilized for comparative analysis, and functional validation of the genes identified would be useful to understand the drought adaptive mechanisms operating under field conditions in finger millet, as has been already attempted for a few candidates such as CIPK31 and TAF6. Such an attempt is needed to enhance the productivity of finger millet under water-limited conditions, and/or to adopt the implicated mechanisms in other related crops.

Efficacy of native bio-agents against sclerotium rolfsii sacc. causingfoot rot of finger millet

Finger millet is one of the important millet crops widely cultivated across India. Although, it is known to be one of the hardiest crops, is affected by many diseases, of which foot rot caused by Sclerotiumrolfsiihas been on the rise especially under irrigated and high rainfall situations.Nine Trichoderma spp. and 10 Pseudomonas spp. isolated from cultivated soils of Mandya, Karnataka, india were screened in in-vitro against S.rolfsii. Among the bio-agents Chandagaluisolate (CT) of Trichoderma and Kannahatty isolate (KP) of Pseudomonas were found to be very effective in suppressing the foot rot of finger millet in susceptible variety Indaf-5. These two potential bio-agents when tested in different delivery methods under greenhouse conditions, seedling root dip followed by soil application of Trichoderma (CT) and Pseudomonas (KP) were significantly superior over other methods in reducing foot rot incidence, besides enhancing seedling growth parameters and grain yield.

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) and white rice diets elicit similar glycaemic response in Asian Indians: Evidence from a randomised clinical trial using continuous glucose monitoring

@#Introduction: Finger millet (FM) or Eleusine coracana L. is considered as a healthier cereal option, especially based on its higher dietary fibre, phytochemical and mineral contents. FM is also recommended for individuals with diabetes, as it is believed to elicit a lower glycaemic response. Methods: The glycaemic response of FM diet was evaluated and compared with white rice (WR) diets using a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS™) iPro 2™ among 14 healthy male and female volunteers aged 25-45 years with normal Body Mass Index (≥22.9kg/m2) in a crossover trial. They were recruited from Madras Diabetes Research Foundation volunteers registry. The participants consumed randomised iso-caloric FM or WR based diets for five consecutive days and 24 h interstitial glucose concentrations were recorded. Results: The FM diet had significantly higher dietary fibre than WR (29.9 g vs 15.8 g/1000 kcal, p<0.01) but the other macronutrients were similar. The 5-day average incremental area under the curve (IAUC) of FM diet [Mean (95% CI) = 73.6 (62.1-85.1) mg*min/dl] was not significantly different from that for WR diet [Mean (95% CI) = 78.3(67.9-88.7) mg*min/dl]. Conclusion: Both finger millet and white rice diets showed similar 24 h glycaemic responses, despite the former having higher amounts of dietary fibre. The result suggests that use of FM flour-based food preparations and decorticated FM grains to replace WR in the Indian diets offer no significant benefit with regards to 24 h glycaemic response. Studies of longer duration with larger sample size are needed to verify our findings.

Yield, Quality and Nutrient Uptake as Influenced by Organic Manures and Inorganic Fertilizers in Finger Millet.

A field experiment was conducted to study the influence of organic manures and chemical fertilizers on yield, nutrient uptake by finger millet and soil fertility status at harvest during kharif 2013 at Agricultural Research Station, Perumallapalle, ANGRAU. The results revealed that significantly highest grain yield (37.21 q ha-1), protein content (8.82%), N uptake (84.80 kg ha-1), P uptake (12.04 kg ha-1), No. of tillers/plant (2.5), No. of fingers/ear head (13) were recorded in inorganic treated plot when compared with organic treated plot (35.08 q ha-1 of grain yield, 8.61% of protein content,75.29 kg ha-1 of N uptake, 11.58 kg ha-1 of P uptake, 2.2 tillers/plant, 11 fingers/earhead). Organic carbon content in soil was increased in organic plot (0.02% only) when compared with intial value. In both the treatments available N was reduced and available K was increased when compared with initial available N and K.

Purification and properties of a carboxylesterase from germinated finger millet (Eleusine coracana Gaertn.).

A carboxylesterase (EC 3.1.1.1) was purified from germinated finger millet by ammonium sulphate fractionation, diethylaminoethyl-cellulose chromatography and Sephadex G-200 filtration. The homogeneity of the enzyme was established by Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focussing and sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme has a single polypeptide chain with a molecular weight of 70,000. The amino acid analysis of the purified enzyme revealed that it contained a greater number of neutral and acidic, compared to, basic amino acid residues. The isoelectric pH of the enzyme was found to be 5·1. Studies with different organophosphate and carbamate inhibitors showed that this enzyme was more sensitive to organophosphate inhibitors than carbamates. The rate constants ki and l50 for different inhibitors were calculated. The product inhibition studies with this enzyme showed linear competitive inhibition with acetate and linear noncompetitive inhibition with 1-naphthol.

Proteases in germinating finger millet (Eleusine coracana) seeds.

Proteolytic activity was estimated in germinated finger millet seedlings using the endogenous trypsin/amylase inhibitor as substrate and also with haemoglobin and albumin as substrates. The maximal proteolytic activity was observed on the third day of germination. With the inhibitor as substrate, the proteolytic activity was maximal at pH 2.5. The protease that acted on the inhibitor required sulphydryl groups for maximal activity and was suppressed by diazoacetyl norleucine methyl ester and Pepstatin. The protease that acted on haemoglobin with optimum pH of 5.0, was more stable on storage, did not depend on sulphydryl groups for activity and was unaffected by reagents that react with carboxyl groups.