Plausible of An Annual Grass, Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn): A Review

 

Singh L. Raj*, Singh K, Rupam

Department of Medicinal Plants Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences,

Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar-249411

 

ABSTRACT:

This paper deals with focussing on multidimensional effect of Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) in curing number of diseases/disorders. It is an annual underutilized herb belonging to Poaceae family. It is predicted from temperate to tropical climate throughout the country up to an altitude of 1900 m. The medicinal plants have been one of the major sources of medicines since the beginning of civilization. There is robust demand for plant based medicines, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals items all across the globe. Aim of this study was to review the phyto-geographical, chemical constituents of different plant parts and therapeutic potential of the plant. It is powerful nutraceutical and pharmaceutical agent aiding in curing major concerning disease of our country such as cardiovascular diseases (37 million), diabetes (62 million), osteoporosis (46 million), rheumatic arthritis (7 millions). This review article is presented to acknowledge the updated information.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

India has a great potential in traditional healthcare system since the ancient times by the means of Ayurveda. Plants have served as valuable components of medicines, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, teas, dyes and other miscellaneous items. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) is a power house of health benefitting nutrients. It is commonly known as Ragi/ Mandhulika (Mandua) in India. Balbaja is the name of the grass as mentioned in the Atharvaveda, and is said in the Yajurveda Samhita to be produced from the excrements of cattle ^[3,5,7,14].

 

Many plants species are still underutilized with human health point of view. Underutilized plants are domesticated/ wild plant species that have been used for centuries or even millennia for their food, fibre, essential oils or medicinal properties, but have been reduced in importance over time owing to particular supplies and use constraints. They continue to play an important role in the subsistence and economy of poor people throughout the developing world. Despite their multidimensional effects they continue to attract little research and development attention. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) is also considered as divine plant. Most of the divine medicinal plants are underutilized with pharmaceutical and processing point of view. Dietary antioxidants such as Vitamin C and E are capable of neutralizing reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the aqueous phase before lipid peroxidation is initiated. Vitamin E, a major lipid soluble antioxidant, is the most effective chain breaking antioxidant within the cell membrane where it protects membrane fatty acids from lipid peroxidation^{[25,29,33,36]}. Antioxidants, free radical scavenger and lipid peroxidation activities of Finger millet may prove as boon for combating lifestyle/aging originated disorders such as Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and rheumatic disorders affecting 37 million, 62 million, 46 million, and 7 million people respectively^{[15,17,23,26,33]}. Finger millet has three times more Ca than milk and 10-fold higher Ca than brown rice, wheat or maize. Calcium (Ca) is the fifth most abundant element present in the human body, accounting for up to 1.9% of the body weight in adults. Its main functions are to provide rigidity and structure, mediating vascular and muscular contractions or dilations and nerve signal transmission. Ca may serve in the protective role against various types of cancer viz. colorectal. It is also very rich source of iron, amino acids like methionine, slowly digestible starch and phytochemicals like polyphenols. It is a gluten-free, low fat cereal which is non-allergic and easily digestible. For these characteristics, it is often termed as a “super cereal”. Finger millet also has the highest total, soluble and insoluble dietary fibre when compared with wheat, rice, maize, sorghum and pearl millet. Seed kernel and roots of the herb are highly nutritional and medicinal in its effect^[2,4,6,7,12].

 

DETAILS OF THE PLANT:

Hindi Name: Madulika, Ragi, Madua

English Name: Finger millet

Botanical Name: Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.

Family: Poaceae

 

Phytogeographical Distribution:

It is robust, tufted annual grass that is primarily found in sandy soils along rivers sides, dams and roadside as well as being a weed in disturbed areas and cultivated land. It can be grow up to an altitude ranging from 1490-1910 m. It is an annual growing from 0.3 metre to 0.7 metre. It can be grown successfully from temperate to subtropical and tropical climates^{[2,4,10,18,19]}.

 

Morphology:

Finger millet inflorescence is in the whorl of 2-11 straight or slightly curved spikes. The spike is 8-15 cm long and 1-3cm broad. In each spike, about 50-70 spikelets are arranged alternatively on one side of rachis ^{[10,21,22,28,30]}.

 

Plant part used:

Seeds with or without kernel, vegetable plant parts (roots) and may be used as fodder^[1,2,10].

 

Chemical Constituents of Seed:

Major source of Calcium and magnesium having 344mg and 408mg respectively. Some other nutraceutical constituents are also found such as Starch 65-75%, fat 0.5-1.5%, minerals 2-2.5%, protein 6-8% and dietary fibers18-20%. Water -soluble and lipo-soluble vitamins viz., thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, ascorbic acid, and tocopherol^[15,12,29].

 

Chemical Constituents of Roots:

Flavonoids, quercetin, sesquiterpenoids, orientin, vitexin, violanthin, keto acids, various alkaloids, glycosides (Sitosterol) and terpenoids ^[29,30,31].

 

Medicinal/ Nutraceutical/ Cosmeceutical uses:

It has distinguished health beneficial properties such as anti-diabetic, anti-rheumatic, anti-diarrhoeal, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumerogenic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, nerve growth factor production, free radical scavenger and lipid peroxidation activities of whole grains. Harnessing finger millet to combat calcium deficiency in humans. It is rich in calcium, dietary fibre, phytates, protein, minerals and phenolics. Roots are respiratory stimulant help as an expectorant and relieves foot and palm sensation, excessive thrust, and metabolic disorders during fever it posses blood glucose lowering, cholesterol lowering, anti-ulcerative, skin eruptions and wound healing properties^{[8, 9,10,13,27,28,32]}.

 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:

India is an emerging country. It has great potential to cure various disorder and disease through wild or cultivated medicinal plants. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) is predicted in wild/ cultivation web under temperate and tropical climate up to an altitude of 1900 metres. It has great potential to cure number of major lifestyle and aging oriented disorders and disease like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis, rheumatic arthritis. It is powerhouse of several vitamins, minerals (mainly calcium and magnesium), amino acids, proteins, fats, lipids, dietary fibres, carbohydrates, alkaloids, glycosides, terpenoids, flavonoids and tannins. This enforces the exploration of plants for further phytochemical investigation and pharmacodynamics study. Further screening and investigations may give efficient molecules for new drug designing. There is an ample scope for investigation of other members of Poaceae family for novel drug discovery and development. These underutilized grasses are biosynthetic laboratories for various chemical compounds that may further serve as “lead molecule” for development of novel agents for incurable disease also. So, the present review gives a direction for future investigators to carry out research on the underutilized plants so that they could meaningfully contribute in nation building and economic development of the country along with sustainable management of resources.

 

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

The author is thankful to Professor (Dr.) Karan Singh (Medicinal Plants), Professor (Dr.) Dhirendra Singh (Medicinal Plants) for their kind assistance, precious information, persistence support and encouragement to this work.

 

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

There is no conflict of interest.

 

REFERENCES:

1.     Ajiboye A A, Dedeke OA, Adeyemo FC. Investigation on antioxidants, free radical scavenger and lipid peroxidation activities of whole grains finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.). International Journal of Plant Biology. 2017; 8: 6684-6688.

2.     Amalraj A, and Pius A. Influence of oxalate, phytate, tannin, dietary fiber and cooking on calcium bioavailability of commonly consumed cereals and millets in India. Cereal Chemistry. 2015; 92:389–394.

3.     Bodhisattwa M, Nagori BP, Singh R. Recent Trends in Herbal Drugs: A Review. International Journal of Drug Research and Technology. 2011; 1(1): 17-25.

4.     Chandra D, Chandra S, Pallavi, Sharma AK. Review of Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn): A Power house of health benefiting nutrients. Food Science and Human Wellness. 2016; 5: 149-155.

5.     Chethan S and Malleshi NG. Finger millet polyphenols: optimization of extraction and the effect of pH on their stability. Food Chemistry. 2007; 105: 862-870.

6.     Consensus Development Statement.Who are candidates for prevention and treatment for osteoporosis? Osteoporos. Int. 1997; 7: 1–6. Available from: doi: 10.1007/BF01623453.

7.     Devi P B, Vijayabharathi R, Sathyabama S, Malleshi N G, and Priyadarisini V B. Health benefits of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) polyphenols and dietary fiber: a review. Journal of Food Science and Technology. 2014;51: 1021–1040.

8.     Dhiman A K. Wild Medicinal Plants of India. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun- Uttarakhand. 2005.

9.     Gaon mei Aushadh Ratan. Krishna Gopal Ayurveda Bhawan. Ajmer-Rajasthan. 2012.

10.   Gaur R D (1999). Flora of The District Garhwal North West Himalaya. Transmedia Publication, Srinagar-Uttarakhand. 1999.

11.   Gull A, Nayik G A, Prasad K, Kumar P. Nutritional, technical, and medical approach of finger millet (Eleusine coracana). Cogent Food and Agriculture. 2015, 1: 1-9.

12.   Institute of Medicine (US) Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. National Academies Press. Washington, DC.1997.

13.   Jadi Booti Ki Veyaveshavik Kheti. Yug Nirman Yojna Press, Mathura-Uttar Pradesh. 2011.

14.    Jadi Booti Dwara Swasthya Sanrakshan. Yug Nirman Yojna Press, Mathura-Uttar Pradesh. 2011.

15.   Kumar A, Metwal M, Kaur S, Gupta A K, Puranik S, Singh S. Nutraceutical value of finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.], and their improvement using omics approaches. Frontiers in Plant Science. Available from: doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00934.

16.   Kokate C K, Purohit A P, Gokhale S B. Pharmacognosy Nirali Prakashan, Pune, Maharashtra. 2010. 46^th edition.

17.   Mbithi-Mwikya S, Camp J V, Yiru Y, and Huyghebaert A. Nutrient and antinutrient changes in finger millet (Eleusine coracan) during sprouting. Lebensmittel-Wissenschaft and Technologie. 2000;33 :9–14.

18.   Negi S S, Srivastava R K, Bisht N S. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Shiva Offset Press, Dehradun- Uttarakhand. 2007.

19.   Neeraj N K. Mera Aahar Mera Swasthya. Narayan Prakashan, Jaipur-Rajasthan. 2011. 5^th edition.

20.   Pandya P. Jadi Booti Chikitsa Ek Sandarshika.Yug Nirman Yojna Press, Mathura- Uttar Pradesh. 2011.

21.   Pareek O P, Sharma S, Underutilized fruits and Nuts. Aavishkar Publishers, Jaipur-Rajasthan. 2009, Vol. I-II.

22.   Prayogic Vanaushadhi Vigyan. Yug Nirman Yojna Press, Mathura- Uttar Pradesh. 2010.

23.   Prabhakaran D, Jeemon P, Roy A. Cardiovascular disease in India current epidemiology and future directions. Global burden of cardiovascular disease.2016; 133:1605-1620. Available from: doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.008729

24.   Quality Standards of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Medicinal Plants Unit, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi.2012.

25.   Raghunathan K and Mitra R. Pharmacognosy of Indigenous Drugs. Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha, New Delhi.1982, Vol-1, pp.41-50.

26.   Rajasekaran N S, Nithya M, Rose C, Chandra T S. The effect of finger millet feeding on the early responses during the process of wound healing in diabetic rats. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. 2004; 1689: 190-201.

27.   Singh K, Jakhar M L, Singh D. Medicinal Herbs and Spices (Scientific Ecofarming and Technology). Aavishkar Publishers, Jaipur-Rajasthan. 2008a.

28.   Singh K, Jakhar M L, Singh D. Polytherapic Medicinal Plants and Spices (Post Harvest Management and Export Potential). Aavishkar Publishers, Jaipur-Rajasthan.2008b.

29.   The Ayurvedic Formulary of India.Ministry of Health and Family Planning, Govt. of India, New Delhi.1978, Part-I, pp.249.

30.   The Wealth of India (Second supplement series, Vol.-1: A-F). NISCAIR Press, New Delhi.2010.

31.   The Wealth of India (Raw materials Vol.III: D-E). NISCAIR Press, New Delhi. 2010.

32.   Visharad C B. Vanaushadhi-Chandrodya. Chaukhambha Sanskrit Sansthan, Varansi-U.P.2011, Part1-10.

33.   WHO/FAO/IAEA. World Health Organization. Switzerland: Geneva; Trace Elements in Human Nutrition and Health.1996.

34.   WHO: Good Harvest Processing Practices. 2016. Available from: www.who.int/.../V-2ndGlobalReview-RevisedDraft-WHO-GHPP- March2017.pdf.

35.   WHO: Good Manufacturing Practices for Herbals.2007. Available from:http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/documents /s14215e/ s1421 5e. pdf.

36.   Wiseman H and Halliwell B. Damage to DNA by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species: role in inflammatory disease and progression to cancer. Biochemical Journal.1996; 313: 17– 29.

 

 

Accepted on 29.12.2018            © A&V Publications All right reserved