Proximate composition, starch, phytate and mineral contents of 10 pearl millet genotypes

Ten pearl millet genotypes: IS 91777, IS 91666, IS 91333, IS 89111, IS 880004, IS 843, IS 833, Kabti, YD-X3 and Tihama, were used in this study. Investigations showed that pearl millet contained 88–91% dry matter, 1.6–2.4% ash, 2.6–4.0% crude fibre, 2.7–7.1% oil, 8.5–15.1% crude protein, 58–70% starch and 354–796mgg −1 phytic acid. Mineral contents were 10–80, 180–270 and 450–990mgg −1 Ca, Mg and P, respectively, and 70–110, 4–13, 53–70, 18–23, 10–18 and 70–180 μgg −1 K, Na, Zn, Mn, Cu and Fe, respectively. The percentage of phytate to total phosphorus was found to range from 70–89% with an average of 77%. A linear relationship between phytate and total P existed with a correlation coefficient of 0.9805.