Khumbaron Kiranbala Kabui1 and K.A. Athmaselvi1
1Department of Centre of Excellence for Grain Sciences,National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management, Thanjavur-613005
Introduction
Millet is a category of tiny-seeded grass cultivated mainly in arid, tropical, and subtropical areas. It is generally utilized throughout the globe as cereal for human consumption and animal fodder. It is the main staple food in emerging nations, like Asia and Africa (Singh et al., 2018). Millet grains are leading compared to other cereals in their nutritional factors and mineral contents and play a significant part in the nutrition of humans because of their various advantages (Sharma & Sharma, 2021).
Probiotics are good and live bacteria promoting the host’s health when given in adequate quantities by enhancing the microbial balance. They are also known as “health-friendly bacteria” having health benefits such as the prevention of bowel diseases, and lactose intolerance, enhancing the immune system, and decreasing travelers’ diarrhea (Geetha et al., 2021). Probiotics from the genera Streptococcus, Lactococcus, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and a few types of Enterococcus and Escherichia coli are the most popular and commonly utilized (Budhwar et al., 2020).
Millet as probiotics and prebiotics
Probiotics enhance the existing flora or help repopulate the colon when antibiotics, chemotherapy, or disease reduce the levels of bacteria (Salam et al., 2012). Prebiotics are indigestible food ingredients that have positive effects on the host by specifically promoting the growth and activity of one or a few bacteria in the colon. The consumption of prebiotics promotes the maintenance and development of probiotics, and the health benefits of the host depend on the intestinal microflora microorganisms (Farooq et al., 2013). Fermented products from millet can be used as a natural probiotic remedy in young children with diarrhea. The whole grain of millet also exhibits prebiotic action, which aids in boosting the number of beneficial bacteria that are essential for promoting digestion (Sarita & Singh, 2016). Millet-based probiotic beverages have beneficial effects on diabetes, colitis, anxiety, depression, osteoarthritis, and cerebral ischemia (Byresh et al., 2022). Probiotic products have been proven to have healing benefits for people with inflammatory bowel disease, reduce the occurrence of colorectal and lower the chance of colon cancer ( Rafter, 2004; Vasudha & Mishra, 2013).
Need for non-dairy probiotics beverages
The change in lifestyle, eating routines, and well-being consciousness have changed the user preferences of food towards nutritious, health advantages, and disease-preventive foods. The majority of probiotic foods now on the market are milk-based as fermented milk and yogurts but customers now opt for nutritional supplements that are either cholesterol-free or contain very little cholesterol. The major effects of probiotic dairy products are lactose intolerance, allergic milk proteins, and cholesterol content (Vasudha & Mishra, 2013). 75% of people in the world are intolerant to lactose. The common symptoms experienced by people who have lactose intolerance are gastrointestinal pain, stomach cramps, indigestion, belching, diarrhea, etc. The intake of probiotic foods can reduce the problem of lactose intolerance, but the quantity of lactose and cell count in the product determines its efficacy. Moreover, the need for probiotic products based on plants is increasing in developed nations due to the rising number of vegetarian consumers. For people with lactose sensitivity, plant-based probiotic foods are employed as a healing remedy (Panghal et al., 2018).
Table 1. Different strains used in millet-based probiotic beverages
| Millets | Strains | References |
| Sorghum, finger millet | Strains of Lactobacillus- paracasei, brevis, plantarum, delbruekii and fermentum | (Muyanja et al., 2003) |
| Finger millet | Lactobacillus casei 431® | (Fasreen et al., 2017) |
| Pearl millet | L. rhamnosus GR-1 S. thermophilus | (Di Stefano et al., 2017) |
| Sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet | Lb. rhamnosus GG | (Geetha et al., 2021) |
| Kodo millet | Pediococcus acidilactici, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus fermentum | (Sharma & Sharma, 2021) |
Nutritional value of millet probiotic beverages
The nutritional value of a food product is important for increasing the consumer acceptability of the product (Geetha et al., 2021). The nutritional value of millet probiotic beverages varies depending on the types and their varieties and also on the type of strains used. Millets contain essential nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, lipids, dietary fibers, micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants. They are considered functional foods (Banerjee & Maitra, 2020). Probiotics produce metabolites and bioactive substances that improve the nutritional properties and safety of the food product. It was reported that probiotics can produce vitamins like folate, riboflavin, vitamin K2, thiamine, and cobalamin (Khorshidian et al., 2020).
Probiotic beverages from millet are a nutritious food that is high in energy, carbohydrate, protein, crude fiber, and minerals (Fasreen et al., 2017).
Conclusions
Due to the changes in the consumer’s living standards due to globalization, advances in food technology, and consciousness about health, there have been remarkable changes in eating food habits from milk-based products to milk-free products. Also, a rise in interest in non-milk probiotic foods arises with the increasing problems of lactose intolerance, the cholesterol content of milk, milk protein allergies, and the growth rate of vegetarianism. Therefore, there is a need to develop alternative dairy products using cereals like millet for the development of probiotic beverages. Combining the nutritional qualities of millets and probiotics can produce a food product enriched with various nutrients having positive impacts on human health.
References
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