Department of Food Science and Technology, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, BR 465, km 47, 23890-000, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil.
Department of Food Science and Technology, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, BR 465, km 47, 23890-000, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil.
Food Res Int. 2018 Jul;109:175-186. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2018.04.023. Epub 2018 Apr 18.
Climate change can cause an increase in arid soils, warmer weather, and reduce water availability, which in turn can directly affect food security. This increases food prices and reduces the availability of food. Therefore, knowledge concerning the nutritional and technological potential of non-traditional crops and their resistance to heat and drought is very interesting. Pearl millet is known to produce small nutritious cereal grains, which can endure both heat and dry conditions, and is one of the basic cereals of several African and Asian countries. Although this species has been cultivated in Brazil for at least 50 years it is only used as a cover crop and animal feed, but not for human consumption. Nonetheless, pearl millet grains have a high potential as food for humans because they are gluten-free, higher in dietary fiber content than rice, similar in lipid content to maize and higher content of essential amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and lysine) than other traditional cereals, such as wheat and rye. In addition, the crop is low cost and less susceptible to contamination by aflatoxins compared to corn, for example. Most grains, including pearl millet, can be milled, decorticated, germinated, fermented, cooked and extruded to obtain products such as flours, biscuits, snacks, pasta and non-dairy probiotic beverages. Pearl millet also has functional properties; it has a low glycemic index and therefore it can be used as an alternative food for weight control and to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes. Thus, this review intends to show the potential of pearl millet as an alternative food security crop, particularly in countries, like Brazil, where it is not commonly consumed. Also this review presents different processes and products that have been already reported in the literature in order to introduce the great potential of this important small grain to producers and consumers.
气候变化会导致干旱土壤增加、天气变暖以及可用水资源减少，这反过来又会直接影响粮食安全。这会导致食品价格上涨和食品供应减少。因此，了解非传统作物的营养和技术潜力及其对高温和干旱的抗性非常重要。珍珠粟是一种小而营养丰富的谷物，能够耐受高温和干旱条件，是几个非洲和亚洲国家的基本谷物之一。尽管这种物种在巴西已经种植了至少 50 年，但它仅被用作覆盖作物和动物饲料，而不是人类食用。尽管如此，珍珠粟谷物具有作为人类食物的巨大潜力，因为它们不含麸质，膳食纤维含量高于大米，脂质含量与玉米相似，必需氨基酸（亮氨酸、异亮氨酸和赖氨酸）含量高于其他传统谷物，如小麦和黑麦。此外，与玉米相比，这种作物成本更低，不易受到黄曲霉毒素污染。包括珍珠粟在内的大多数谷物都可以经过碾磨、去皮、发芽、发酵、烹饪和挤压来获得面粉、饼干、小吃、面食和非乳制品益生菌饮料等产品。珍珠粟还具有功能性特性；它的血糖指数较低，因此可用作控制体重和降低患糖尿病等慢性病风险的替代食品。因此，本综述旨在展示珍珠粟作为替代粮食安全作物的潜力，特别是在巴西等国家，珍珠粟并不常见。本综述还介绍了文献中已经报道的不同工艺和产品，以向生产者和消费者介绍这种重要小谷物的巨大潜力。
