**Abstract**

Millets are one of the oldest food grains known to mankind. They are considered underutilized crops and can sustain in harsh environments with limited water resources where other crops grow or yield poorly. Millets are very adaptable: they thrive in dry regions, on clay soils, in wet lowlands, or alluvial lands. Their root systems are powerful, able to descend very quickly to a great depth of soil to extract water and minerals, and thus have high adaptability to climate change, especially drought. Millets have a good nutritional profile along with good nutraceutical potential and thus can be considered a great crop for combating food nutritional security globally.

**Keywords:** nutrition, medicinal properties, millets, value-added products, food products

#### **1. Introduction**

Millets are considered to be one of the oldest and most important cereal grains known to mankind [1–3]. Millets are ranked as the 6th cereal crop in terms of the world's agricultural production and are the staple diet for nearly 1/3rd of the world's population [1, 2]. Millets constitute the staple diet in many parts of Asia and Africa since ancient times [4].

Millets are usually small-seeded annual cereal grains that are part of the Poaceae family, are cultivated throughout tropical and subtropical region [5]. Millets can be grown even in areas with limited natural resources because they need very little water for production and can be grown without irrigation or in areas with very little rainfall (200–500 mm) i.e., can withstand drought conditions, higher heat regimes, less fertile soil, pest resistance, and short growing season usually 45–60 days [2, 3, 5]. Millets are classified as C4 cereals. C4 cereals are more environmentally friendly because they use water more efficiently, convert more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to oxygen, and require less energy [6]. Millets are broadly categorized into two major groups: (1) major millets; pearl millet or bajra (*Pennisetum glaucum*), sorghum or jowar (*Sorghum bicolor*) and (2) minor millet; finger Millet or ragi, mandua (*Eleusine coracana*), barnyard millet or jhangora, sanwa (*Echinochloa frumentacea*), little millet or kutki, shavan (*Panicum sumatrense*), foxtail millet or kangni, kakum (*Setaria italica*), proso millet or barri (*Panicum miliaceum*), and kodo millet or koden (*Paspalum scrobiculatum*) are the millet crops largely cultivated in Asian and African countries [7]. Globally, India is the largest producer of millet with 35.625% of the world's total production. Among the top ten milletproducing countries of the world, India ranked first with 1.085 MT followed by Nigeria (0.45 MT), Niger (0.28 MT), China (0.21 MT), Mali (0.127 MT), Sudan (0.108 MT), Burkina Faso (0.097 MT), Senegal (0.062 MT), and Ethiopia (0.058 MT) (**Figure 1**). The majority of millets, 95.9%, are produced in developing countries, mostly in Africa and Asia (**Figure 2**) [8]. In India, millets are grown in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, and Madhya Pradesh [9, 10].

Millets were discovered to have a high nutritional content that is equivalent to that of popular grains like wheat and rice [11]. They are considered as high-energy yielding nourishing foods which help in addressing malnutrition [5]. **Table 1** summarizes the average nutritious makeup of several millet grains and other significant cereal grains. Along with amazing nutritional values millets also have health benefits. A number of health benefits are associated with the consumption of millets, largely due to the bioactive phytochemicals found in these cereals, such as lignans, flavonoids, phenolics, beta-glucan, sterols, inulin, pigments, dietary fiber, and phytate [5]. They aid in the management of health issues such as diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, cancer, and cardiovascular illnesses, as well as decreasing blood pressure, risk of heart disease, cholesterol, and the rate of fat absorption, and delaying stomach emptying [2, 11]. Phenolics rich millets are of great significance in health, aging, and metabolic syndrome. The presence of phytate in the millets is allied with anticancer and cholesterol lowering property. Millets with fiber-rich content are essential for preventing the gall stone formation. Millets are most commonly thought of as a good source of proteins which play a crucial role in the suppression of malnutrition [5]. Additionally, millets are also used as an important component of many traditional diets, and are

**Figure 1.** *Top 10 producers of millet in the world.*

*Nutritional Properties, Nutraceutical Potential of Different Millets, and Their Value-Added… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110548*

**Figure 2.**

*Production share of millets by different region.*


#### **Table 1.**

*Nutritional analysis of different millets and other cereal grains (g per 100 g) [2, 5, 6, 10, 12–18].*

frequently utilized as food and fodder in rural areas. With time millets are used to prepare a variety of value-added products, either as the base ingredient or by substituting any other grain. Despite not being a significant component of the average American or European diet, millets are increasingly valued as a component of multigrain and gluten-free cereal products in these regions. However, millet is a common staple food in many Asian and African nations, where it is also used to make a variety of ethnic cuisines and drinks [12]. The food products are made with a combination of wheat flour and other millet flour with millet flour to enhance the sensory profile. It is used in a variety of ways to get value-added products, either by substituting any other grain or as the base ingredient.
