The elevation of plasma concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in mice fed with protein from proso millet

Simultaneous Determination of 54 Pesticides in Proso Millet Using QuEChERS with Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)

To assess the potential risks posed to the environment and human health, analyzing pesticide residues in proso millet is important. This paper aimed to develop a modified QuEChERS method with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the analysis of 54 pesticide residues in proso millet. Parameters including the mobile phase of the instrument, the acidity of the extraction solvent, and the type of absorbents were optimized to provide satisfactory performance. The method was validated concerning linearity, limit of quantification (LOQ), matrix effect, accuracy, and precision. In detail, the linearity of the matrix-matched calibration curve was acceptable with correlation coefficients (R2) higher than 0.99. The mean recovery was in the range of 86% to 114% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) ≤ 20% (n = 5). The LOQ was determined to be 0.25-10 μg/kg. The developed method was feasible for the determination of multiple pesticide residues in proso millet.

Molecular dynamic (in silico) modeling of structure-function of glutelin type-B 5-like from proso millet storage protein: effects of temperature and pressure

Molecular dynamic (MD) simulation provides an insight into the behavior of a protein under applied processing at the molecular level. The behavior of glutelin type-B 5-like protein, a type of glutelin protein from proso millet was studied, in solution under different temperatures (300, 350, and 400 K) and pressure (1 bar, 3 kbar, and 6 kbar) levels using a molecular dynamics simulation approach. The combined treatment effect (400 K, 6 kbar) increased the compaction of the protein compared to the level at (300 K, 1 bar) as shown by the decreased radius of gyration values from 3.26 to 2.92 nm, decreased solvent accessibility surface area from 327.47 to 311.06 nm2 and decreased volume from 108.35 to 105.04 nm3. The root means square deviation increased with increasing temperature but decreased with increasing pressure while the root means square fluctuations increased significantly with increased in temperature and pressure. A snapshot of the three-dimensional structure of the protein revealed compression of its occluded cavities at higher pressure levels but no obvious disruption to the secondary structure elements of the protein was observed, except for the loss of a few amino acid residues that comprise the secondary structure element.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-022-05594-y.

Kinetics Investigation on Mushroom Tyrosinase Inhibition of Proso Millet

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) is rich in nutritive components and is widely used as a human food, feed and forage for animals, and fuel. This study investigated the effect of a proso millet extract on the inhibition of tyrosinase, a key enzyme in melanogenesis. High performance liquid chromatography analysis indicated that the proso millet extract contained phenolic tyrosinase inhibitors, such as syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, and ferulic acid. The extract had an IC50 for inhibition of tyrosinase activity of 14.02 mg/mL. A Lineweaver-Burk double reciprocal plot showed that the proso millet extract functioned as a mixed competitive and noncompetitive inhibitor. Proso millet has potential as a tyrosinase inhibitor that may have applications in the cosmetics industry.

Proso Millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) and Its Potential for Cultivation in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.: A Review

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is a warm season grass with a growing season of 60-100 days. It is a highly nutritious cereal grain used for human consumption, bird seed, and/or ethanol production. Unique characteristics, such as drought and heat tolerance, make proso millet a promising alternative cash crop for the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of the United States. Development of proso millet varieties adapted to dryland farming regions of the PNW could give growers a much-needed option for diversifying their predominantly wheat-based cropping systems. In this review, the agronomic characteristics of proso millet are discussed, with emphasis on growth habits and environmental requirements, place in prevailing crop rotations in the PNW, and nutritional and health benefits. The genetics of proso millet and the genomic resources available for breeding adapted varieties are also discussed. Last, challenges and opportunities of proso millet cultivation in the PNW are explored, including the potential for entering novel and regional markets.

Genetic diversity and genomic resources available for the small millet crops to accelerate a New Green Revolution

Small millets are nutrient-rich food sources traditionally grown and consumed by subsistence farmers in Asia and Africa. They include finger millet (Eleusine coracana), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), barnyard millet (Echinochloa spp.), and little millet (Panicum sumatrense). Local farmers value the small millets for their nutritional and health benefits, tolerance to extreme stress including drought, and ability to grow under low nutrient input conditions, ideal in an era of climate change and steadily depleting natural resources. Little scientific attention has been paid to these crops, hence they have been termed "orphan cereals." Despite this challenge, an advantageous quality of the small millets is that they continue to be grown in remote regions of the world which has preserved their biodiversity, providing breeders with unique alleles for crop improvement. The purpose of this review, first, is to highlight the diverse traits of each small millet species that are valued by farmers and consumers which hold potential for selection, improvement or mechanistic study. For each species, the germplasm, genetic and genomic resources available will then be described as potential tools to exploit this biodiversity. The review will conclude with noting current trends and gaps in the literature and make recommendations on how to better preserve and utilize diversity within these species to accelerate a New Green Revolution for subsistence farmers in Asia and Africa.

Genetic diversity and genomic resources available for the small millet crops to accelerate a New Green Revolution

Small millets are nutrient-rich food sources traditionally grown and consumed by subsistence farmers in Asia and Africa. They include finger millet (Eleusine coracana), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), barnyard millet (Echinochloa spp.), and little millet (Panicum sumatrense). Local farmers value the small millets for their nutritional and health benefits, tolerance to extreme stress including drought, and ability to grow under low nutrient input conditions, ideal in an era of climate change and steadily depleting natural resources. Little scientific attention has been paid to these crops, hence they have been termed "orphan cereals." Despite this challenge, an advantageous quality of the small millets is that they continue to be grown in remote regions of the world which has preserved their biodiversity, providing breeders with unique alleles for crop improvement. The purpose of this review, first, is to highlight the diverse traits of each small millet species that are valued by farmers and consumers which hold potential for selection, improvement or mechanistic study. For each species, the germplasm, genetic and genomic resources available will then be described as potential tools to exploit this biodiversity. The review will conclude with noting current trends and gaps in the literature and make recommendations on how to better preserve and utilize diversity within these species to accelerate a New Green Revolution for subsistence farmers in Asia and Africa.

Phytochemical and antiproliferative activity of proso millet

The phytochemical content, antioxidant activity and antiproliferative properties of three diverse varieties of proso millet are reported. The free phenolic content ranged from 27.48 (Gumi 20) to 151.14 (Mi2504-6) mg gallic acid equiv/100 g DW. The bound phenolic content ranged from 55.95 (Gumi20) to 305.81 (Mi2504-6) mg gallic acid equiv/100 g DW. The percentage contribution of bound phenolic to the total phenolic content of genotype samples analyzed ranged between 62.08% and 67.05%. Ferulic acid and chlorogenic acid are the predominant phenolic acid found in bound fraction. Caffeic acid and p-coumaric acid were also detected. Syringic acid was detected only in the free fraction. The antioxidant activity was assessed using the hydrophilic peroxyl radical scavenging capacity (PSC) assay. The PSC antioxidant activity of the free fraction ranged from 57.68 (Mi2504-6) to 147.32 (Gumi20) µmol of vitamin C equiv/100 g DW. The PSC antioxidant activity of the bound fraction ranged from 95.38 (Mizao 52) to 136.48 (Gumi 20) µmol of vitamin C equiv/100 g DW. The cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) of the extract was assessed using the HepG2 model. CAA value ranged from 2.51 to 6.10 µmol equiv quercetin/100 g DW. Antiproliferative activities were also studied in vitro against MDA human breast cancer and HepG2 human liver cancer cells. Results exhibited a differential and possible selective antiproliferative property of the proso millet. These results may be used to direct the consumption of proso millet with improved health properties.

Inhibitory Activity of Linoleic Acid Isolated from Proso and Japanese Millet toward Histone Deacetylase

Linoleic acid was isolated from both the methanol extracts of proso and Japanese millet as a histone deacetylase inhibitor. It showed uncompetitive inhibitory activity toward histone deacetylase (IC(50)=0.51 mM) and potent cytotoxicity toward human leukemia K562 (IC(50)=68 microM) and prostate cancer LNCaP cells (IC(50)=193 microM). Millet containing linoleic acid might have anti-tumor activity.

Effects of fermented pepper powder on body fat accumulation in mice fed a high-fat diet

We investigated the effects of non-pungent pepper powder fermented by Bacillus licheniformis SK1230 on the fat accumulation in mice. Four weeks of feeding a high-fat diet with fermented pepper powder resulted in a significantly decreased hepatic total-lipid level and increased serum HDL-cholesterol, and tended to lower the fat weight. These results suggest that fermented pepper powder inhibited fat accumulation and improved lipid metabolism in mice fed the high-fat diet.

Millet consumption decreased serum concentration of triglyceride and C-reactive protein but not oxidative status in hyperlipidemic rats

This study was undertaken to investigate the hypothesis that whole grain consumption would have beneficial effects on lipid profiles, antioxidant status, and the inflammation state of hyperlipidemic rats compared to those resulting from a white rice (WR) diet. Forty-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 24) were fed a high-fat diet (188.3 kJ% energy as fat) for 8 weeks to induce hyperlipidemia and were then randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 6 each) that were fed diets containing WR (control), sorghum, foxtail millet (FM), or proso millet for the next 5 weeks. Blood lipid profiles, hepatic antioxidant parameters, and inflammation-related measurements were determined in all of the groups. The concentrations of serum triglycerides were significantly lower in the FM and proso millet groups compared to those of the WR and sorghum groups. The concentrations of serum total, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol were significantly higher in the sorghum group than in the WR, FM, and proso millet groups. Hepatic catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione activities, as well as thiobarbituric acid reactive substance levels were not significantly different between the groups. Levels of C-reactive protein were significantly lower in the FM group than in the WR, sorghum, and proso millet groups. Inhibitor kappaB-alpha was expressed in the liver cytosolic fraction, and nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-kappaB (p65) into the liver nucleus was blocked in all groups. In conclusion, FM and proso millet may prevent cardiovascular disease by reducing plasma triglycerides in hyperlipidemic rats; in contrast, sorghum increases total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol concentrations.

Content and quality of protein in proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) varieties

Proso millet belongs to the oldest cereals that human is using. Eight varieties of proso millet were cultivated in Ceske Budejovice from 1998 to 2000 and Cerveny Dvur from 1999 to 2000. The crude protein content was determined according to Kjehladl method and amino acid content was determined chromatographically after acid and oxidative acid hydrolysis. Although the protein content of proso (11.6% of dry matter) was similar to wheat, the grain of proso was significant richer in essential amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, methionine) then wheat. Hence, the protein quality of proso (Essential Amino Acid Index) was higher (51%) compared to wheat. The proso grain contained about 3.3 g kg(-1) of the limiting amino acid-lysine. Significant differences in protein and its quality were found among the evaluated proso varieties. The varieties Toldanskoe and Lipetskoe were the most different from the others in protein and amino acid content and Amino Acid Score of individual acids. They had the lowest content and quality of protein. The seed coat of these varieties was red. The amino acid and protein content was significantly influenced by weather during the year. Dry conditions caused an increase of protein but its quality was decreased.