Bioaccessible Mineral Content of Malted Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana), Wheat (Triticum aestivum), and Barley (Hordeum vulgare)

Malted grains are extensively used in weaning and geriatric foods. Malting generally improves the
nutrient content and digestibility of foods. The present investigation examined the influence of malting of
finger millet, wheat, and barley on the bioaccessibility of iron, zinc, calcium, copper, and manganese.
Malting increased the bioaccessibility of iron by >3-fold from the two varieties of finger millet and by
>2-fold from wheat, whereas such a beneficial influence was not seen in barley. The bioaccessibility
of zinc from wheat and barley increased to an extent of 234 and 100%, respectively, as a result of
malting. However, malting reduced the bioaccessibility of zinc from finger millet. Malting marginally
increased the bioaccessibility of calcium from white finger millet and wheat. Whereas malting did not
exert any influence on bioaccessibility of copper from finger millet and wheat, it significantly decreased
(75%) the same from barley. Malting did increase the bioaccessibility of manganese from
brown finger millet (17%) and wheat (42%). Thus, malting could be an appropriate food-based strategy
to derive iron and other minerals maximally from food grains.