Journal of Cereal Science 70 (2016) 132e139

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Journal of Cereal Science

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jcs

Effect of fermentation and malting on the microstructure and selected

physicochemical properties of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) flour
and biscuit
Janet Adeyinka Adebiyi a, *, Adewale Olusegun Obadina a, b,
Antoine Floribert Mulaba-Bafubiandi c, Oluwafemi Ayodeji Adebo a, Eugenie Kayitesi a
a
Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 17011, Doornfontein Campus, Gauteng, South
Africa
b
Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Food Sciences and Human Ecology, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, P.O. Box 54,
Alabata, Ogun State, Nigeria
c
Department of Metallurgy, Mineral Processing and Technology Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering and The Built Environment, University of
Johannesburg, P.O. Box 17011, Doornfontein Campus, Gauteng, South Africa

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study investigated the effect of fermentation and malting on selected physicochemical, textural and
Received 19 March 2016 microstructural changes in pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) flour and its resultant biscuit. Results
Received in revised form obtained showed that both fermentation and malting significantly (p < 0.05) increased swelling capacity,
25 May 2016
oil and water absorption capacity, with a decrease in bulk density of the flours. The diffraction patterns
Accepted 31 May 2016
Available online 1 June 2016
on X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed slight increase in the crystallinity of the fermented and malted millet
flours, while baking resulted in a reduced crystallinity of the biscuit samples. The Fourier transform
infrared (FTIR) spectra showed changes and increases in the band intensities, while the scanning electron
Keywords:
Pearl millet
microscopy (SEM) studies revealed that while fermentation and malting changed the microstructure of
Malting the native flour from an irregular compact granular structure to a regular loose structure, baking induced
Fermentation a distorted “honey-like” comb structure to all the biscuit samples. Textural profile (hardness) also
Physicochemical properties showed an increase in hardness from 5.30 N in the native biscuits to 15.85 and 29.31 N in the malted and
fermented biscuit samples respectively. Conclusively, fermentation and malting modified and improved
the physicochemical and possible nutritional properties of the flour and resultant biscuit.
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction population of approximately 400 million people (Shadang and

Millets are cereal crops belonging to the Poaceae family, known
for their drought resistance. Although there are various types of
millets (Shobana et al., 2013), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum),
comprises almost average of millet worldwide production (Jukanti
et al., 2016). It is extensively grown in both developing and un-
derdeveloped countries where it is used as food for a teeming
Abbreviations: ANOVA, analysis of variance; FB, fermented biscuit; FF, fer-
mented flour; FTIR, Fourier transform infrared; HT, hydrothermal treatment; MB,
malted biscuit; MF, malted flour; NB, native biscuit; NF, native flour; OAC, oil ab-
sorption capacity; SEM, scanning electron microscopy; WAC, water absorption ca-
pacity; XRD, X-ray diffraction.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: janet.adeyinka@yahoo.com (J.A. Adebiyi).
Jaganathan, 2014). It is a major source of calories, essential micro-
nutrients, phytochemicals, vitamins, phenolic compounds, min-
erals and nutraceuticals, constituting a vital component of food
security in developing countries (Amadou et al., 2014). With the
increased search for gluten free products to address the issues of
celiac disease, millet is positioned as a viable raw material for
gluten free products. Its flour can therefore be utilized and trans-
formed to products such as beverages, porridges and baked prod-
ucts (Taylor and Emmambux, 2008).
In the absence of sophisticated processing machinery and
equipment in developing countries, especially most parts of Africa
pearl millets are processed using traditional processing methods to
ensure nutritional and food security. Fermentation and malting are
food processes, which have been used for ages to diversify the use
and improve the nutritional qualities of millets (Amadou et al.,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2016.05.026
0733-5210/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 J.A. Adebiyi et al. / Journal of Cereal Science 70 (2016) 132e139
2013; Shobana et al., 2013). Malted and fermented cereals continue
to constitute an important part of our daily diet providing a sub-
stantial percentage of the world’s food supply (Kohajdova and
Karovicova, 2007; Coulibaly et al., 2012; Amadou et al., 2013). Ac-
cording to Coulibaly et al. (2012) malting causes increased activities
of hydrolytic enzymes, improving amino acids content, total sugars,
and B-group vitamins and decreases starch and dry matter.
Fermentation also leads to an improved texture, shelf life, taste,
aroma, digestibility, nutritional value and it significantly lowers
antinutrients (Kohajdova and Karovicova, 2007).
During the preparation and processing of millet into various
other forms, a series of changes in its components, composition and
structure occurs. Changes in the microstructure of finger millet
(Eleusine coracana) due to hydrothermal treatment (HT), decorti-
cation and popping have been reported (Dharmaraj et al., 2014), for
HT and fermentation of foxtail millet (Setaria italica) (Amadou et al.,
2014) and dry heat treatment on proso millet (Panicum miliaceum
L.) flour and starch (Sun et al., 2014) as well. There is however
limited information on the physicochemical changes induced by
the fermentation and malting of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum)
flour and resultant products such as biscuit. Therefore, the aim of
this study was to evaluate the effect of malting and fermentation
treatments on physicochemical properties of pearl millet flour and
its subsequent millet-based biscuit.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
Pearl millet grains (Pennisetum glaucum) were obtained from
retailers in a food crop market in Ibadan (7.97 N, 3.03 E), Nigeria.
The brownish-grey pearl millet grains have an average diameter,
thickness and density of 2.5 mm, 1.6 mm and 1.1 g/ml respectively,
while the proximate composition of the pearl millet is provided in
Supplementary Table S1. These were sorted and cleaned, while
damaged grains, stones and all other extraneous materials were
removed and discarded. A part of these was milled (Perten Labo-
ratory Mill 3600, Perten Instruments, Sweden) and passed through
a 500 mm sieve to obtain the native flour (NF).
2.2. Malting of pearl millet
The malted flour (MF) was prepared using the methods
described by Coulibaly et al. (2012). The grains were steeped in
water for 24 h, drained and germination was done by spreading the
steeped grains on trays at 28  C in an oven (LABCON EFDI4, South
Africa). During the germination period, water was sprayed inter-
mittently and after 3 days of germination, they were dried (40  C
for 24 h, LABCON EFDI4, South Africa), milled (Perten Laboratory
Mill 3600, Perten Instruments, Sweden) and passed through a sieve
(500 mm).
2.3. Fermentation of pearl millet
Fermented millet flour (FF) was prepared as described by
Onweluzo and Nwabugwu (2009). The grains were steeped in
water in a ratio of 1:4 (w/v) and allowed to ferment by endogenous
microflora at 28  C for 3 days. At the end of the fermentation period,
water was drained and the seeds were dried (40  C for 24 h, LAB-
CON EFDI4, South Africa), milled (Perten Laboratory Mill 3600,
Perten Instruments, Sweden) and passed through a sieve (500 mm).
2.4. Biscuit preparation
The 100% millet-based biscuit was prepared and baked using a
133
modified method of Serrem et al. (2011). Briefly, the biscuit
formulation comprised of 112.5 g of millet flour, 28 g of sugar, 33 g
of sunflower oil, 6.75 g of vanilla essence, 0.75 g of baking powder
and 60 g of water. The dough was manually rolled into a thickness
of 5.8 mm and cut into rectangular shapes using a biscuit cutter
(66 mm length and 45 mm width). The biscuits were baked in a
preheated oven at 180  C for 18 ± 3 min using the MF, FF and NF
flours to respectively obtain malted biscuits (MB), fermented bis-
cuits (FB) and native biscuits (NB). Both the flours and biscuits were
subjected to analysis as described below.
2.5. Functional properties, physicochemical and microstructural
analysis
2.5.1. Water and oil absorption capacity (WAC and OAC).
Using the methods described by Sosulki et al. (1976), 10 ml of
distilled water or refined sunflower oil was added to 1 g of the
respective flours (NF, FF and MF), properly mixed and kept at
ambient temperature for 30 min. The resulting mixture was
centrifuged at 2000g for 10 min in a weighed centrifuge tube and
the supernatant decanted. OAC and WAC were calculated as the
difference between the initial weight of the sample and the weight
of the sample after the water/oil added has been decanted. Results
obtained were expressed on a dry basis as grams of water/oil bound
per gram of flour sample.
2.5.2. Bulk density
Fifty (50) g of the different flour samples were respectively
weighed into a 100 ml graduated measuring cylinder each. The
cylinder was tapped several times on a laboratory bench to a
constant volume and recorded. The bulk density (g/cm3) was
expressed as the weight of sample per volume of sample after
tapping (Adeleke and Odedeji, 2010).
2.5.3. Swelling capacity
The samples were respectively filled up to the 10 ml mark in a
100 ml graduated cylinders, while distilled water was added to
adjust the total volume to 50 ml. The top of the graduated cylinders
were tightly covered and mixed by inverting the cylinder. The
suspension were inverted again after 2 min and allowed to stand
for further 30 min. The volume occupied by the sample was taken
after 30 min (Okaka and Potter, 1977).
2.5.4. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of millet flour and biscuit.
Both biscuit and flour samples were further ground and sieved to
obtain average particle sizes of about 40 mm. Five grams of the
milled samples were loaded into the XRD sample holder and
pressed down using a stainless steel weight. The crystalline prop-
erty and X-ray diffraction of the samples were examined using an
X-ray diffractometer (Rigaku-UltimaIV, Japan) equipped with a
divergence slit, operating at 40 kV and 40 mA and scanning region

was 3e47 at a scan speed of 1 /min, which covered all the signif-
icant sample crystallites.
2.5.5. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of millet flour and biscuit.
The biscuit samples were defatted using the methods described by
Indrani et al. (2003). These were milled and sieved in preparation
for SEM analysis. To prevent charge effect, the flour and biscuit
samples were mounted on aluminum stubs and spray coated with a
thin film of carbon using a carbon coater (Quorum Q150TE, Quorum
Technologies, UK). After coating, the samples were transferred to
the SEM specimen chamber and subjected to electron beam under
vacuum using a scanning electron microscope (Vega 3 XMU, TES-
CAN Czech Republic).
134 J.A. Adebiyi et al. / Journal of Cereal Science 70 (2016) 132e139
2.5.6. Fourier transmission-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of millet
flour and biscuit. The FTIR spectra of the samples were obtained
using a FTIR spectrophotometer [Thermo Scientific Smart iTR,
(Attenuated Total Reflectance), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. USA].
Background spectra of the instrument were collected before sam-
ples (0.5 g of each milled biscuit/flour) were mounted on the in-
strument and the spectra were recorded with characteristic peaks
in wave numbers from 450 to 4000 cm 1 at 16 runs per scan.
2.6. Textural analysis of millet biscuit
An objective textural evaluation for the baked biscuits were
measured on a texture analyzer (EZ Test, Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan)
connected to a TRAPEZIUMX software. The differently treated bis-
cuit samples of an average thickness and width of 5.33 and
41.06 mm respectively were individually placed on two base beams
with a distance of 30 mm apart and compression was done at a test
speed of 10 mm/min. A diagram of force-time was taken and the
maximum force (N) which can be referred to the hardness of the
biscuit was estimated from the curve (Gupta et al., 2011).
2.7. Statistical analysis
The results of the functional properties were average of tripli-
cates and are expressed as mean ± standard deviation. The data
obtained were analyzed as a completely randomized single factor
design by analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the general linear
model procedure in SPSS Statistics 22 (IBM, USA). Significant F tests
at (p < 0.05) levels of probability are reported. When a significant F-
value was detected, Duncan’s Multiple Range Test was used to
determine significant differences among means.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Functional properties of flour samples
3.1.1. Water absorption and oil absorption capacity (WAC and OAC)
WAC and OAC are vital characteristics that represent the ability
of a flour sample to associate with water/oil under conditions
where such is limited. As observed from Table 1, the WAC of the
processed flours (FF and MF) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher
than that of the unprocessed flour (NF). This reflects that the FF and
MF flours have higher affinity for water, while a loss in structure of
the starch polymers (which was degraded during fermentation and
malting) caused the flours to possess higher WAC (Table 1). A
higher WAC corresponds to higher amounts of carbohydrates
(starch), soluble sugars and proteins, while lower WAC means
presence of lesser amounts of these constituents and lower hy-
drophilic components (Akubor and Badifu, 2004). Similar trends
were also recorded for the OAC (Table 1). The mechanism of fat
absorption is attributed mainly to the physical entrapment of oil
and the binding of fat to the apolar chain of protein (Wang and
Table 1
Functional properties of pearl millet flour (NF), fermented pearl millet flour (FF) and
malted pearl millet flour (MF).
Parameters NF FF
Bulk density (g/cm3) 0.78b ± 0.01 0.76b ± 0.01
Swelling capacity (ml) 12.5a ± 0.71 13.5a ± 0.71
OAC (g/g) 1.20a ± 0.02 1.24ab ± 0.02
WAC (g/g) 1.32a ± 0.02 1.66b ± 0.16
*
Each value is a mean of triplicates± SEM of triplicates. Means with no common
letters within a row significantly differ (p < 0.05). OAC e Oil absorption capacity,
WAC e Water absorption capacity.
Kinsella, 1977). This is relatively dependent on intrinsic factors
such as amino acid composition, surface polarity and lipophilicity.
The higher OAC of the MF suggests the presence of apolar amino
acids, indicating that reserves of nutrients like protein and starch
have been respectively degraded to amino acids and soluble sugars
to meet seedling requirements during the germination process
(Claver et al., 2010). This makes them more lipophilic and could also
be indicative of the better reconstitution ability and dough prop-
erties obtainable from MF and FF during the baking. The better WAC
and OAC of the FF and MF flours are important for food applications,
as these properties enhances mouth feel and flavor retention.
3.1.2. Bulk density
The bulk density of a sample gives a reflection of its heaviness
and an indication of necessary packaging requirements (Yadav
et al., 2012). The bulk density obtained from this study showed
that NF has significantly (p < 0.05) higher density (0.778 g/cm3),
while the lowest value (0.6907 g/cm3) of bulk density was recorded
for MF. Fermentation and malting processes were observed to
cause a decrease in bulk density, as this processes have soften the
seeds, leading to a breakdown of complex structures (carbohy-
drates and proteins), to smaller units. This also reflects the actions
of enzymes, which has dextrinified the starch to other sub-units,
yielding less bulky flours which will tend to have a higher
nutrient density (Gernah et al., 2011).
3.1.3. Swelling capacity
The swelling capacity determines the extent a flour sample in-
creases (in volume) when soaked in water, relative to its initial
volume. The swelling capacity obtained in this study (Table 1),
ranged from 12.5 to 23.5 ml. A significant (p < 0.05) increase in the
swelling capacity of the MF and FF samples were observed.
Accordingly, a better swelling capacity signifies enhanced flour
functionality, which would ultimately yield a good product.
3.2. X-ray diffraction of flour and biscuit
Differences in the crystallinity of the flours and biscuits as
affected by processing were investigated by studying their
diffraction patterns. Peak intensity is relative to quantity of ar-
ranged semi-crystalline structures and/or variations in electron
density between crystalline and amorphous lamellae (Hamley,
2013). While the sharp peaks correlated to crystalline region, the
diffused peaks amounted to the amorphous region of the flour and
biscuit samples. The diffraction patterns for the pearl millet flours
are presented in Fig. 1. All the flour samples exhibited an A type
XRD pattern. NF had a diffraction pattern with major reflections at
2q of 15.418.3 , 23.7 and a diffused peak at 26.9 . Similar peaks
were also observed for the FF and MF samples with stronger
diffraction intensities with peaks occurring at 2q of 15.2 , 18 , 23.3 ,
26.1 and 15.3 , 17.9 , 23.4 , 26.1 respectively. The fragmentation
of the granules which had taken place during the fermentation and
malting processes influenced the crystallinity which in turn altered
the functional properties studied. No other changes were apparent
from the x-ray diffraction patterns (Fig. 1). The A type arrangement
observed in this study is similar for other cereal flours (Lu et al.,
2005; Amadou et al., 2014). As observed from the x-ray diffrac-
tion graphs, the relative crystallinity of the flour samples decreased
MF
in the biscuit samples (Fig. 1). A generally diffused V type peaks
0.69a ± 0.01
were observed for all the samples, commonly observed in heat
23.5b ± 0.71
1.29b ± 0.04 processed cereals (Dharmaraj et al., 2014). This explains the greater
2.26c ± 0.08 thermal degradation and disruption of the crystalline region of the
flour samples to an amorphous region as recorded in all the biscuit
samples. Heat processing could disrupt the crystalline region of
starch and double helical movement, thus resulting to a partial or
 J.A. Adebiyi et al. / Journal of Cereal Science 70 (2016) 132e139
Fig. 1. X-ray diffraction patterns of (a) pearl millet flour (NF), fermented pearl millet
flour (FF) and malted pearl millet flour (MF), (b) pearl millet biscuit (NB), fermented
pearl millet biscuit (FB) and malted pearl millet biscuit (MB).
complete reorganization in the crystalline alignment. Though few
studies have been presented on the XRD analysis of biscuits, similar
heat treatments have resulted in a decrease in crystallinity of flour
and starch (Sun et al., 2014; Dharmaraj et al., 2014). The differences
in the diffractogram of the baked samples could be due to inherent
molecular dissimilarities.
3.3. Scanning electron microscopy of flour and biscuit
The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the pro-
cessed flour samples and biscuits were compared to observe the
morphological changes in them. According to obtained flour mi-
crographs (Fig. 2), the structure of NF consisted of smaller, irregular
and compact granular structure as compared to FF and MF. A reg-
ular and smoother structural network was observed in the FF and
MF samples, suggesting that malting and fermentation processes
had induced changes which have played a role in forming a regular
shape in their corresponding samples. This may have led to the
better WAC, OAC and swelling capacities of the flour samples,
attributed to the loosening of the samples. In the three flour sam-
ples, the granules appeared to be round or polygonal with lesser
pores. The SEM images of the FF and MF samples also show that
they are less condensed, disoriented and more porous, attributed to
the effect of osmotic stress (Van Der Weerd et al., 2001) during the
135
steeping process. The observed pits in the MF samples could be
attributed to hydrolysis of starch (to form sugars) and proteins (to
form amino acids) (Claver et al., 2010). This correlates with the
observed increased WAC for the MF and NF samples, due to the
formation of monomers of starch and protein. The microstructure
of the biscuit samples showed a more different arrangement of the
granules. Baking distorted the granular structure as all the biscuit
samples had larger granular sizes with a “honey comb like” struc-
ture (Fig. 3) similar to observation of high temperature processed
finger millet (Dharmaraj et al., 2014). This is due to gelatinization of
starch and denaturizing of protein which altered the structure of
the initial flour samples (Fig. 2). Overall, the baking process irre-
versibly altered the structural nature of the flour samples, caused
the formation of an enveloping crust and stabilized the colloidal
batter system. Expansion of bubbles of gases due to the baking
temperature also results in an increased stress in the cellular
membrane, causing rupture. The micrograph of pearl millet biscuits
correlates this observation, as the shape of the granules changed
from compact (Fig. 2) to being spherical and polygonal (Fig. 3). The
decrease in crystallinity of the biscuit samples observed (Fig. 1)
corroborates with the distortion and rearrangement of the micro-
structure of the biscuit samples (Fig. 3).
3.4. Fourier transmission-infrared (FTIR) of flour and biscuit
FTIR spectroscopy is a novel technique for studying constituent
functional groups in an analyte. The infrared (IR) spectra of the
millet flours and biscuits showed common peaks with variations in
intensity (Fig. 4). The FTIR spectra shows the changes due to
malting and fermentation treatments and subsequently, the baked
biscuits. In the both the flour and biscuits samples, peaks were
found to occur in the range of 3328e3284 cm 1, which could be
attributed to OeH bond stretching. The OeH absorption peak
changed from 3285 (NF) to 3298 (MF) and 3300 cm 1(FF). This
changes could be correlated to increase in functional properties and
better lipophilic and hydrophilic properties of the FF and MF flour
samples. A similar trend was also observed in the biscuits samples
with the FB samples and NB samples having an OeH peak at 3328
and 3298 cm 1 respectively. These indicated the extent of forma-
tion of inter and intra molecular bonds (Sun et al., 2014) while
increase in the width of the fermented samples spectrum, can be
attributed to the characteristic presence of alcohol, produced dur-
ing fermentation. The asymmetric stretching of the CeH band in
the range of 3328e2853 cm 1 and the vibrational peak at
1459e1456 cm 1 found the spectrum, was due to the presence of
tightly bound water in form of moisture. The carbonyl stretch peaks
were also found in the range of 1744e1746 cm 1 in the flour
samples and at higher intensities in the biscuit samples in the ab-
sorption range of 1745e1743 cm 1 (Fig. 4). As observed in Fig. 4, the
fermentation and malting operations were observed to reduce the
carbonyl peaks, correlating to a decrease in the total lipids present
in the samples as earlier reported in similar studies of Correia et al.
(2005, 2008). The higher carbonyl peaks observed in the biscuits
samples can be attributed to the additional added fat during dough
preparation, while the baking process depolymerized the fat
resulting in a strong carbonyl peak for all the biscuit samples
(Fig. 4). The peaks at 1158e1020 cm 1 can be attributed to CeO
bond stretching and aliphatic CeN stretching, while the amide I
band, appeared in the 1653e1648 cm 1 region. The decrease in-
tensity of the bands from 1646.80 cm 1 in the NF samples to
1646.25 and 1645.34 cm 1 in the FF and MF samples reflects the
changes in the crystallinity of the samples. This is similar to re-
ported IR spectra obtained for other cereals such as maize and
sorghum (Duodu et al., 2001; Correia et al., 2008). The relatively
stronger amide I peak intensities in the fermented and malted
136 J.A. Adebiyi et al. / Journal of Cereal Science 70 (2016) 132e139

Fig. 2. Scanning electron images of pearl millet flours; native (NF1), fermented (FF1) and malted (MF1); magnified images of native (NF2), fermented (FF2) and malted (MF2).

samples suggests an accumulation of proteins in the processed
samples (Correia et al., 2005). The spectra of the biscuits samples
also showed increases in the amide peak intensities. This could be
attributed to the b-sheet structures of the embedded proteins
(Duodu et al., 2001).
3.5. Texture of the biscuit
Texture evaluation is an important step in the development of a
new food product and is considered important to sensorial
acceptability of foods. This assessment can correlate with sensory
qualities which can assist evaluation during processing. Though
 J.A. Adebiyi et al. / Journal of Cereal Science 70 (2016) 132e139 137

Fig. 3. Scanning electron images of pearl millet biscuits; native (NB1), fermented (FB1) and malted (MB1); magnified images of native (NB2), fermented (FB2) and malted (MB2). *A e
honeycomb structure.

other textural attributes exists, hardness is vital and is of impor-
tance to prospective consumers, as they affect consumer perception
and quality. As observed from Fig. 5, the hardness of the native
biscuits (5.30 ± 0.18) was significantly (p < 0.05) lower compared to
MB (15.85 ± 0.27) and FB (29.31 ± 0.76). It was observed that the
hardness significantly increased with fermentation and malting
processes. The hardness of the biscuits samples are themselves
dependent on the structure and composition of the respective
flours used for baking. This relates to the changes in the hardness of
the FB and MB samples and could be attributed to the alterations in
the physicochemical attributes of the fermented and malted flour.
The significantly (p < 0.05) higher hardness observed in the
138
Fig. 4. FTIR spectra of (a) pearl millet flour (NF), fermented pearl millet flour (FF) and
malted pearl millet flour (MF), (b) pearl millet biscuit (NB), fermented pearl millet
biscuit (FB) and malted pearl millet biscuit (MB).
Fig. 5. Textural (hardness) profile of the native pearl biscuit (NB), fermented pearl
millet biscuit (NB) and malted pearl millet biscuit (NB).
J.A. Adebiyi et al. / Journal of Cereal Science 70 (2016) 132e139
fermented biscuit samples is due to better interaction of proteins
and starch through hydrogen bonding (Hoseney and Rogers, 1994).
The relatively high hardness values obtained in this study compares
with other studies on millet, sorghum and other gluten free prod-
ucts, where it was reported that the addition or use of gluten free
flours increased the hardness of the resulting biscuit samples
(Chakraborty et al., 2011; Yadav et al., 2012).
4. Conclusion
This study gives an insight and overview of changes occurring to
the components of pearl millet as a result of processing operations.
Fermentation and malting improved the functional properties of
the flour and induced desirable changes in the microstructure and
physicochemical properties of the millet flour and biscuit. Malting
and fermentation were observed to result in a degradation of
protein and starch polymers to other smaller constituent struc-
tures. This reflected changes in the microstructure and physico-
chemical properties of the pearl millet flour and consequent baked
biscuits. These changes resulted in enhanced biscuit hardness and
functionalities for potential application in baked food products.
Fermentation and malting presents a viable way of improving the
properties of pearl millet flour, which could be potential in-
gredients to obtain gluten free products, with desirable character-
istics. Opportunities are therefore abound to explore the potential
of this cereal crop for diversified use. Further comprehensive
studies on the changes in the nutritional composition of the fer-
mented and malted pearl millet flour and biscuits are needed to
understand the effects of these processing methods.
Acknowledgement
This piece of work was financially supported via the University
Research Committee (URC) Fellowship of the University of Johan-
nesburg and National Research Foundation (NRF) Scholarship
granted to the main author (Adebiyi, J. A).
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2016.05.026.
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