Millet Starch

Over the past decade, consumer interest and demand for innovative plant-based starch sources for both food and nonfood processing applications have significantly increased. Starch comprises approximately 70% of millet grains, making it a valuable component for use as an ingredient, thickening agent, binding agent, and stabilizer. Unlike conventional sources, millet starch has often been overlooked as a raw material in starch production, despite its potential benefits. Similar to other starches, millet starch primarily functions as a binder, texture modifier, structural agent, and viscosity regulator. Although millet starch can be naturally derived, native starches generally exhibit limited solubility and low shear stability and are prone to retrogradation, necessitating various modification techniques. Extraction of starch from millet and other grains employs enzymatic, chemical, and physical methods, while functional enhancement of millet starch can be achieved through techniques like irradiation, pulsed electric field (PEF), high-pressure processing, ultrasonication, and high-pressure processing (HPP). These modification methods notably alter the structural and digestibility characteristics of the starch, making both native and modified millet starches promising for diverse applications across food and non-food sectors.