Finger millet as a climate-resilient grain for food and health
What it found
Finger millet is rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, fibre and antioxidant compounds, and grows well in dry, poor soils.
The authors say it could help with food security and nutrition, but production and market problems hold it back.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood sugar in people
A small trial in prediabetic people found that finger millet muffins lowered peak blood sugar and insulin responses, but the overall drop in blood sugar was not statistically significant. A review of six trials found that mixes containing finger millet plus other grains lowered HbA1c and LDL cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes.
Mineral absorption
In women with iron deficiency, only 4.6% of iron from finger millet was absorbed, compared with 8.3% from white rice and 11.2% from whole wheat flour. This was linked to the grain's phytic acid and tannin content.
Animal and lab studies
Blood sugar in animals
In diabetic rats, finger millet seed coat material with 11.2% polyphenols lowered fasting blood sugar, serum urea, serum creatinine, serum cholesterol and HbA1c. Lab tests showed finger millet compounds blocked enzymes that digest carbohydrates.
Weight and gut bacteria
In mice fed a high-fat diet for 12 weeks, finger millet bran supplements reduced weight gain, improved lipid profiles and inflammation, eased oxidative stress and changed gut bacteria in a favourable way. Rodent studies also found less weight gain and better lipid levels with finger millet flour.
Other findings
Nutrient content
Finger millet is rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, dietary fibre and antioxidant compounds. Its calcium content ranges from 240 to 344 mg per 100 g.
Climate resilience
The crop tolerates drought and poor soils and grows well in marginal environments. It matures in 3 to 6 months and performs best with 500 to 1,000 mm of seasonal rainfall.
What the authors conclude
- They say finger millet is a promising underutilised indigenous grain for functional food development, sustainable nutrition and climate-resilient food systems.
- They advise that addressing production constraints through improved breeding, mechanisation, research investment and value-chain development could substantially enhance its contribution to dietary diversification, improved public health and sustainable food and nutrition security.
- They call for better-controlled and multi-ethnic clinical trials to confirm the health benefits.
How it was done
Food insecurity and malnutrition remain major challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, driven by climate change and farming systems that rely on a few staple crops like maize, rice and wheat. The authors wanted to see how finger millet could help with sustainable nutrition, health and food security.
The authors searched six databases for studies on finger millet, indigenous grains, nutrition, food security and functional foods. They found 245 articles, removed 86 duplicates and excluded 12 more, leaving 147 peer-reviewed articles that they combined in a narrative review.
What it can’t tell you
- Many of the health findings come from animal or lab studies, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The human trials were small or used multigrain mixes, so the specific effect of finger millet alone is not clear.
- The review cannot show that eating finger millet prevents diabetes or other diseases.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The author(s) declared that this work was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- University of Fort Hare, South Africa; Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa
The paper
- Title
- Exploring finger millet as an underutilised African indigenous grain crop for functional food development, sustainable nutrition, and health
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Bham M, Lamula SQN, Buwa LV, Kambizi L, Bvenura C (2026). Exploring finger millet as an underutilised African indigenous grain crop for functional food development, sustainable nutrition, and health. Frontiers in nutrition. doi:10.3389/fnut.2026.1893035Free full textPubMed 42688720DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error