Mohanan Mrudula M, Vijayakumar Akshitha, Bang-Berthelsen Claus Heiner, Mudnakudu-Nagaraju Kiran Kumar, Shetty Radhakrishna
Department of Biotechnology & Bioinformatics, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Mysore 570015, Karnataka, India.
Research Group for Microbial Biotechnology and Biorefining, Research Group for Chemical Risk Assessment and GMO, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Henrik Dams Allé, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
Foods. 2025 May 13;14(10):1733. doi: 10.3390/foods14101733.
Millets, often known as "nutri-cereals", have garnered renewed global interest due to their numerous health benefits, rich nutritional composition, resilience to extreme climatic conditions, and minimal environmental footprint. The advent of rice and wheat as staple foods in the 1960s led to drastic decline in millet cultivation worldwide. Recognizing the importance of millet, the United Nations (UN) declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets in an effort to accomplish Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG-2), i.e., zero hunger, by increasing millet production and fostering research and development to improve the integration of these grains into mainstream food systems. In recent years, global production of millets has surged, with India leading as the top producer. Millets are nutritionally advantageous, consisting of carbohydrates, antioxidants, and biologically active compounds such as flavonoids, carotenoids, phenolic acids, minerals, and vitamins. Incorporating millets into a balanced diet can help control and prevent diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, inflammation, and malnutrition due to their enriched vital nutrients, low glycemic index, and gluten-free nature. This indicates a transition of millets from an "orphan crop" to being used as ingredients for products (with or without fermentation) that are nutrient-rich, climate-resilient, sustainable, and health-promoting.
小米，通常被称为“营养谷物”，因其诸多健康益处、丰富的营养成分、对极端气候条件的耐受性以及最小的环境足迹而重新引起了全球的关注。20世纪60年代，大米和小麦成为主食，导致全球小米种植大幅下降。认识到小米的重要性，联合国宣布2023年为国际小米年，旨在通过增加小米产量以及促进研发，以将这些谷物更好地融入主流食品体系，从而实现可持续发展目标2（SDG-2），即零饥饿。近年来，全球小米产量激增，印度是最大的生产国。小米在营养方面具有优势，含有碳水化合物、抗氧化剂以及生物活性化合物，如类黄酮、类胡萝卜素、酚酸、矿物质和维生素。由于小米富含重要营养素、低血糖指数且不含麸质，将其纳入均衡饮食有助于控制和预防心血管疾病、糖尿病、炎症和营养不良等疾病。这表明小米正从一种“小众作物”转变为用于生产营养丰富、适应气候、可持续且促进健康的产品（无论是否经过发酵）的原料。
