The nutritional use of millet grain for food and feed: a review

Abstract Worldwide, millets are regarded as a significant grain, however, they are the least exploited. Millet grain is abundant in nutrients and health-beneficial phenolic compounds, making it suitable as food and feed. The diverse content of nutrients and phenolic compounds present in finger and pearl millet are good indicators that the variety of millet available is important when selecting it for use as food or feed. The phenolic properties found in millets compromise phenolic acids, flavonoids, and tannins, which are beneficial to human health. Moreover, finger millet has an exceptionally unique, more abundant, and diverse phenolic profile compared to pearl millet. Research has shown that millet phenolic properties have high antioxidant activity. The presence of phytochemicals in millet grains has positive effect on human health by lowering the cholesterol and phytates in the body. The frantic demands on maize and its uses in multiple industries have merited the search for alternative grains, to ease the pressure. Substitution of maize with pearl and finger millets in the diets of different animals resulted in positive impact on the performance. Including these grains in the diet may improve health and decrease the risks of diseases. Pearl millet of 50% or more can be used in broiler diets without adversely affecting broiler performance or egg production. Of late, millet grain has been incorporated in other foods and used to make traditional beverages. Thus, the core aim of this review is to provide insight and comprehension about the nutritional and phenolic status of millets and their impact on human and livestock

A review of the possibilities of utilising medicinal plants in improving the reproductive performance of male ruminants

Our review condensed evidence on the potential of medicinal plants to improve the reproductive performance of livestock. The success of any livestock farming operation is highly dependent on the reproductive performance of animals. However, infertility has limited the proficiency of livestock and resulted in economic losses. For centuries, farmers utilised medicinal plants extensively in managing reproductive disorders. These plants have few to no side effects, are cheap, easily accessible and readily available. Among others, the inclusion of Moringa olifera leaf extracts for 14 days at levels of 100–300 mg/kg body weight improved sperm characteristics. Zingiber officinale root extracts at levels of 500–1000 mg/kg body weight for 3 weeks increased sperm count, viability and mobility and testosterone. Furthermore, the increase in the volume of ejaculate and sperm concentration has been observed in sheep when Leucaena spp were added to their diets at 100–300 g/sheep/day for 60 days. However, there is little literature regarding the use of medicinal plants on ruminants, as the majority of studies have been laboratory-based and have used experimental animals, including rats and mice. Thus, future research is required through in vivo and in vitro studies to ascertain the efficacy of these medicinal plants in male ruminants

Potential significance of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) to global food and feed industries

AbstractKenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) is an annual herbaceous dicotyledonous plant native to Asia and Africa belonging to the Malvaceae family. Due to its many applications, it is a valuable multifunctional crop. This is an essential food, fibre and medicinal plant that can tolerate a variety of environmental conditions. This plant, along with other food alternatives, has potential to be used in feed resource-based inventories. It is an alternative crop that can be used as a protein source in both human and animal feed production. Kenaf contains a great number of bioactive compounds which can be of great importance in human and animal health. Furthermore, kenaf meal can replace soyabean meal and fish meal as protein supplements. Kenaf is greatly adaptable and available therefore, its fast growth and nutritional qualities give it a great potential to solve food insecurity in future. This paper gives an overview of kenaf’s future potential in the food and feed industries

Selecting the best candidates for resurrecting extinct-in-the-wild plants from herbaria

Resurrecting extinct species is a fascinating and challenging idea for scientists and the general public. Whereas some theoretical progress has been made for animals, the resurrection of extinct plants (de-extinction sensu lato) is a relatively recently discussed topic. In this context, the term ‘de-extinction’ is used sensu lato to refer to the resurrection of ‘extinct in the wild’ species from seeds or tissues preserved in herbaria, as we acknowledge the current impossibility of knowing a priori whether a herbarium seed is alive and can germinate. In plants, this could be achieved by germinating or in vitro tissue-culturing old diaspores such as seeds or spores available in herbarium specimens. This paper reports the first list of plant de-extinction candidates based on the actual availability of seeds in herbarium specimens of globally extinct plants. We reviewed globally extinct seed plants using online resources and additional literature on national red lists, resulting in a list of 361 extinct taxa. We then proposed a method of prioritizing candidates for seed-plant de-extinction from diaspores found in herbarium specimens and complemented this with a phylogenetic approach to identify species that may maximize evolutionarily distinct features. Finally, combining data on seed storage behaviour and longevity, as well as specimen age in the novel ‘best de-extinction candidate’ score (DEXSCO), we identified 556 herbarium specimens belonging to 161 extinct species with available seeds. We expect that this list of de-extinction candidates and the novel approach to rank them will boost research efforts towards the first-ever plant de-extinction