Hydrothermal treatment of pearl millet grains: Effects on nutritional composition, antinutrients and flour properties

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is one of the major millets with high nutritional properties. This crop exhibits exceptional resilience to drought and high temperatures. However, the processing of pearl millet poses a significant challenge due to its high lipid content, enzyme activity, and presence of antinutrients. Consequently, it becomes imperative to enhance the quality and prolong the shelf life of pearl millet flour by employing suitable technologies. Hydrothermal treatment in the food industry has long been seen as promising due to its potential to reduce microbial load, inactivate enzymes, and improve nutrient retention. This study aims to investigate the effects of hydrothermal treatment on the quality characteristics of pearl millet. The independent variables of the study were soaking temperature (35, 45, 55 °C), soaking time (2, 3, 4 h), and steaming time (5, 10, 15 min). Treatment conditions had a statistically significant effect on nutrient retention. Major antinutrients like tannins and phytates were reduced by 0.99% to 5.94% and 0.36% to 6.00%, respectively, after the treatment. Lipase activity decreased significantly up to 10% with the treatment conditions. The findings of this study could potentially encourage the use of pearl millet flour in the production of various food items and promote the application of hydrothermal treatment in the field of food processing.