*2.1.2 Nutritional properties of barnyard millet*

Barnyard millet is a good source of protein, fat, carbohydrate and crude fiber, vitamins and micronutrients such as iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, copper, and some essential amino acids, alkaloids, glycosides. It also contains phytochemicals such as phenolic acid, flavonoids, and tannins which serve as a good source of natural antioxidants [21, 22]. Barnyard millet is a rich source of several vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol), and contains some antinutrient constituents (a-amylase inhibitors, trypsin inhibitors, phytate, and tannins) [11, 22], fatty acids (linoleic acid, oleic, palmitic, stearic acid, and linolenic acid) [23]. Additionally it also contains amino acids like valine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, histidine, threonine, tryptophan, and methionine [15, 24].
