Research Projects

The study focuses on the potential of pearl millet bran as a source for producing Arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides (AXOS), a soluble dietary fiber, in supplementary foods. AXOS are degradation products of polymeric AXs with different degrees of polymerization, substitution, and bound phenolic compounds. The use of AX and AXOS in supplementary foods is limited in India due to the unavailability of cost-effective and green processes. Pearl millet, which accounts for 60% of total millet production in India, is an excellent source of AX and AXOS. Preclinical studies using diet-induced diabetic mice models showed potent anti-diabetic effects, reduced AGE accumulation, reduced body weight, and improved lipid profile. The project aims to optimize a green chemistry process at a pilot scale for the production of AXOS from pearl millet bran, validate the process and analyze its efficacy at in vitro and in vivo, and develop supplementary foods with AXOS and their evaluation. The main experiments involve optimizing the lab-scale green chemistry method, validating the bioactivities of AXOS in vitro, and developing diet-induced type-2 diabetic mice to evaluate the anti-diabetic property of AXOS. The study highlights the importance of pearl millet production in India, as it provides an opportunity to use the agro-processing by-product, bran, for producing nutraceutical molecules. The proposed project aims to utilize pearl millet bran as a source to produce AXOS, which have the potential to be used in supplementary foods and pharmaceutical use.