ABSTRACT Background/Objectives Millets are a group of ancient cereal grains increasingly recognized for their nutritional and functional benefits. The purpose of the present study is to understand the effects of roasting, soaking, and microwave pretreatments on the bioactive components and anti‐nutritional factors of six minor millet browntop, kodo, barnyard, proso, foxtail, and little millet. Findings Among untreated millets, browntop exhibited the highest levels of total phenolics (TPC; 149.72 ± 2.68 mg GAE/100 g), total flavonoids (TFC; 198.56 ± 2.89 mg QE/100 g), and antioxidant activity (75.6% DPPH inhibition). Roasting significantly enhanced total phenolic content (120%–260% increase), total flavonoid content (80%–85% increase), and antioxidant activity (260% increase in % DPPH inhibition) across all millet types, with 10 min of roasting emerging as the most effective duration. Soaking for 12 h increased TPC (27%–36%), TFC (3.5%), and antioxidant activity to 150% but longer durations led to degradation due to leaching and oxidation. Microwave treatments at moderate power levels (500–700 W for 2–4 min) improved bioactive composition with an increase of 120% in TPC, 25% in TFC, and about 77% in antioxidant activity. Soaking was most effective in reducing anti‐nutritional factors like tannins (30%–60%) and phytic acid (50%–55%), followed by roasting, which led to 17% reduction in anti‐nutritional factors. Conclusion Optimization of different pretreatments has identified roasting as the most effective pretreatment overall, providing a balanced improvement in functional components while moderately reducing anti‐nutritional factors. Significance/Novelity These findings provide critical insights into optimizing millet processing techniques for enhanced nutritional and functional value.
Kaur et al. (Mon,) studied this question.