Millets as Bioactive Grains: A Review of Their Phytochemistry, Nutritional, and Pharmacological Attributes

Millets have attracted significant scientific attention due to their rich bioactive components and recognition as nutritional powerhouses. Commonly referred to as Nutricereals, these grains are abundant in minerals and vitamins. Varieties such as sorghum, barnyard, Kodo, pearl millet, foxtail millet, and finger millet are not only drought-resistant but also confer notable health benefits. Their seeds, grains, and bran are replete with essential nutrients, including minerals, beneficial phytochemicals, complex carbohydrates, and dietary fibers. Millets are particularly rich in crucial micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and vitamins, providing sustained nutrition while thriving in poor soils with minimal inputs, thereby supporting sustainable agricultural practices. Their antioxidant content, featuring flavonoids like luteolin and tricin, along with phenolics such as ferulic acid, offers robust protection against free radicals and oxidative stress. Beyond their nutritional benefits, millets exhibit promising anti-inflammatory and antirheumatic effects, as evidenced in barnyard millet extracts, with sorghum starch serving as an optimized binder (8-12% w/w) for pharmaceutical formulations of drugs with low solubility. Their demonstrated antimicrobial potential further enhances their medical applications, rendering millet-derived excipients and bioactive compounds viable natural alternatives to synthetic ones. Given these remarkable attributes, including excellent tabletting properties and ethnomedicinal uses, extensive research is imperative to fully elucidate the bioactive potential of millets and their health benefits. This review underscores the phytochemistry, nutritional superiority, and pharmacological versatility of millets, while exploring their applications in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and sustainable agriculture sectors as innovative solutions to challenges such as obesity, inflammation, cancer, heart disease, and global food security.