Multi-omics reveals the health advantages of minor coarse cereals

Minor coarse cereals play an essential role in the agricultural industry and in promoting healthy diet, owing to their strong climate adaptability and nutritional purposes. The present study comprehensively analyzed nutritional value of minor coarse cereals, which surpasses that of staple crops, through multi-omics. Minor coarse cereals possessed higher level of dietary fiber, particularly foxtail millet (37.16 %, which was 0.46 to 2.56-fold higher than staple crops). The crude fat in foxtail millet (5.13 %) and the resistant starch in sorghum (37.79 %) were particularly notable. Additionally, minor coarse cereals had significant advantage in iron content (42.21-47.68 mg/kg) and zinc (28.62-45.02 mg/kg), each with its own strength. Moreover, foxtail millet exhibited a remarkable abundance of phenolic acids. Broomcorn millet stood out with significantly levels of steroids. Sorghum boasted the highest concentrations of tannins, flavonoids, and coumarins. The findings of this study provided scientific evidence for the healthy diets of minor coarse cereals.