Effects of sprouting on proximate, vitamin and anti-nutrient compositions of finger millets

Abstract

Food safety is a serious concern particularly for developing countries. To prevent hunger and malnutrion, there is need to research for alternative and cheaper ways to improve food nutrients. Sprouting is a food processing technique used to impede anti-nutrient interactions and make nutrients available in food crops. This work was designed to determine the effect of sprouting on nutrient compositions of finger millets. Finger millets were sprouted separately for nine days after which, sprouts were collected at three days intervals and evaluated for proximate, vitamins and anti-nutrient factors using standard analytical methods. The results showed that seeds sprouted for six days had the highest nutrients values. Proximate compositions of sprouted seeds increased significantly compared to the control values (3.23±0.01 to 4.74±0.02%, 1.15±0.03 to 1.42±0.02%, 12.34±0.03 to 24.61±0.05% and 68.35±0.08 to 78.49±0.04%) for moisture, ash, protein and carbohydrates respectively. Vitamins contents of sprouted seeds also increased significantly compared to the control values (0.870±0.040 to 4.237±0.015mg/100g, 0.867±0.020 to 3.147±0.012mg/100g and 0.117±0.007 to 2.390±0.006mg/100g) for niacin, tocopherols and folic acids respectively. However, anti-nutrient properties of sprouted seeds reduced beyond that of the control values (132.67±38.39 to 479.48±33.71mg/100g, 511.46±45.34 to 965.46±41.51mg/100g, 20.00±8.19 to 33.11±12.63mg/100g, 113.00±18.13 to 181.33±30.17mg/100g and 0.19±12.01 to 0.33±17.02mg/100g) for phytic acids, saponins, tannins, cyanogenic glycosides and oxalates respectively. This study thus showed that sprouting improved the nutritional value and reduced the anti-nutrient factors in finger millets.