International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition

Authors
Prashant Bagade, Vasudha Pant

Abstract
Finger millet, an important dryland crop, is loaded with nutrients. However, it also contains antinutritional factors like phytate. Present study was conducted to determine the effect of various simple processing techniques in reducing phytate. Samples were collected from 15 villages of mountain districts of Uttarakhand, India and evaluated for various parameters. They were subjected to three different treatments – roasting, boiling and malting to evaluate their effects on reducing phytate content and bioavailability of select nutrients. Results indicated that all three treatments were able to reduce phytate content to a varying extent apart from improving the bioavailability, as determined through molar ratios of Fe, Zn, and Ca with phytate. Simple food processing treatments are beneficial to improve the nutritional quality of finger millet for consumption as well as for developing ready-to-eat products.