Effect of germination period on physiochemical properties of elite finger millet varieties

Abstract

Finger millet is an important cereal crop in Africa, where it plays an important role in nutrition and food security. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the germination period on the physicochemical properties of elite finger millet varieties. Axum, Meba, Tadesse and Tessema varieties were soaked for 24 h and germinated for 24, 48 and 72 h at room temperature (23.2 ± 2.6°C) and relative humidity (37.91 ± 8.17%), before being oven-dried and milled into four different flour samples. Results showed that as the germination period increased, the shoot length, germination percentage, germination loss, total titratable acidity and protein content increased, while the pH value, ash and fat content decreased from 6.43 to 5.97, 2.41 to 1.67 mg/100 g and 2.41 to 1.67 mg/100 g respectively. In all varieties, color L of germinated flour increased significantly (P < 0.05), but colors a (redness) and b decreased. According to the findings, germination improved the physicochemical properties of elite finger millet flours.