Phenolic-Linked Antioxidant and Anti-Hyperglycemic Properties of Selected Cereal, Pseudo-Cereal, and Millet Using In Vitro Screening Methods

Abstract

Improving diversity of food systems by targeting whole grain cereals, pseudo-cereals, and millets is essential to enhance nutritional qualities beyond macro and micronutrient balance and to address emerging global food and nutritional security-linked public health challenges. However, human health relevant nutritional parameters of whole grains vary widely among species, genotypes, growing conditions, and further due to different processing methods. Therefore, it is important to screen human health relevant nutritional parameters of these whole grains prior to targeting them for wider public health solutions linked to non-communicable chronic diseases (NCD). Based on this rationale, oats from different processing stages and from different production systems, buckwheat, teff, pearl millet, and different genotypes of sorghum were analyzed for health relevant phenolic bioactive linked antioxidant and anti-hyperglycemic properties using in vitro assay models. Overall, high phenolic-linked antioxidant and anti-diabetic properties were observed in whole grain oats, rolled oat, buckwheat, teff, and select sorghum genotypes.