Bioactive molecule investigation is limited in less common cereals; therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the lipid fraction and phytochemical composition in seven species of cereal crop grains: Eleusine coracana (finger millet), Hordeum vulgare (barley), Panicum sumatrense (little millet), Paspalum scrobiculatum (kodo millet), Pennisetum glaucum (pearl millet), Setaria italica (foxtail millet) and Sorghum bicolor (sorghum or great millet). Fat content ranged between 1.8% ( E. coracana ) and 6.9% ( P. glaucum ). In most of the extracted oils, linoleic acid was the main fatty acid, constituting approximately half (41.33–62.54%) of the total fatty acids, except P. scrobiculatum and E. coracana , in which oleic acid was dominant (42.62 and 44.46%, respectively). The lowest and highest saturation was observed in S. italica and P. scrobiculatum (9.91 and 30.48%, respectively). Total carotenoid content was negligible, and low in H. vulgare (10.35 mg 100 g − 1 oil) and S. italica (4.67 mg 100 g − 1 oil). Total tocochromanol content ranged between 0.48 ( P. scrobiculatum ) and 319.63 ( H. vulgare ) mg 100 g − 1 oil. In most of the oils, γ-tocopherol was the main tocochromanol, except for H. vulgare , in which tocotrienols dominated, with α-tocotrienol content at 174 mg 100 g − 1 oil. Total sterol content in the oils ranged between 1548.31 ( P. glaucum ) and 3726.07 ( S. italica ) mg 100 g − 1 oil, β-sitosterol having the largest fraction in all oils, except for S. italica , in which Δ5-avenasterol dominated. It was also the only oil in which squalene and cholesterol were observed (912 and 346 mg 100 g − 1 oil, respectively). Millets and barley have low oil content, but are rich in some lipophilic bioactive compounds.
Patel et al. (Sat,) studied this question.