NUTRITIONAL AND ANTI-NUTRITIONAL POTENTIALS AND VARIABILITY AMONG SELECTED FINGER MILLET (ELEUSINE CORACANA SUBSP. CORACANA) LANDRACES OF TIGRAY, NORTHERN ETHIOPIA

Finger millet is one of the staple food crops used for different end-uses in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. However, limited research attention was given to its nutritional and anti-nutritional profiling. Thus, this research was conducted to assess the potential and variability in protein, starch, minerals, flavonoid, tannin, and antioxidant activities among selected finger millet landraces. Protein and starch were analyzed using an infrared spectrophotometer, whereas mineral elements were estimated using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Antioxidant activity was analyzed using ferric-reducing antioxidant power, and phosphomolybdenum assays. The result revealed significant variation among the landraces for all the evaluated nutritional and anti-nutritional traits. Respectively, protein and starch contents ranged from 8.79 to 11.05% and 70.30 to 76.17%. Extensive variations were observed for Fe (93.56-742.59), Zn (14.76-30.13), Cu (8.29-13.11), Mn (88.40-201.303), and Cr (2.54-6.58) as measured in mg/100g. High variabilities for total flavonoid (4-33.88 mg CE/g) and tannin (0.76-2.70 mg CE/100 g) were also observed. Ferric reducing antioxidant power (15.55-57.06 mg AAE/g), and total antioxidant activity (7.78-20.59 mg BHTE/g) were also highly variable among the samples. Multivariate analysis revealed that the landraces were clustered into three distinct groups. The rich genetic diversity in the nutritional and anti-nutritional attributes may be an opportunity for breeding for grain quality improvements of finger millet that, in turn, helps in addressing malnutrition.