Monitoring bioaccessibility of iron and zinc in pearl millet grain after sequential milling

The present study was to understand the effect of sequential milling on the distribution of inhibitory factors and their relation to iron–zinc bioaccessibility in the two pearl millet cultivars differing in grain shape and size. The studies revealed that the yield of decorticated grain and bran fractions differed between the cultivars. The initial bran fractions had lower iron content, which increased on increase of decortication duration (2.33–25.14 mg/100 g), while zinc did not follow this pattern. Among the inhibitory factors, polyphenols and phytic acid were low in the initial stages of milling and subsequently increased as the milling duration increased. Microscopic studies further confirmed that iron–zinc and inhibitory factors coexist in the same tissues of the grain. The β- carotene was more concentrated in the middle layers of the pericarp. It was observed that iron bioaccessibility was the highest in the 4 min milling bran (7.7%, 3.34%) and final decorticated grain fractions (13.79%, 18.45%) of both the cultivars. Iron bioaccessibility could not be related to any particular inhibitory factors, in bran insoluble fibre and phytic acid were prominent while in decorticated grain galloyls, catechols and phytic acid were the maxima. In both the cultivars, zinc bioaccessibility was high in fractions with low phytic acid and insoluble fibre. The data presented suggest that 6 min decortication that removed around 10–15% of the bran had the highest iron and zinc bioaccessibility. The iron-rich bran fraction after appropriate processing can also be used in speciality food and thereby addresses the problem of micronutrient deficiency.