Nourishing the Cognition with Millets: A Comprehensive Review of Their Nutritional Impact and Potential as Cognitive Enhancers

Abstract

Cognition is the mental processes and abilities involved in acquiring, storing, retrieving and using it for decision making. Cognitive decline due to aging, lifestyle factor, chronic health conditions, genetic, and environmental factors are rising global concern and propose a potential threat to the cognitive health. The nutritional imbalance has led to increase in cognitive disorders around the world. Millets can be a nutritional intervention for promoting cognitive health and preventing cognitive decline. Millets has abundant phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and antioxidants to protect against oxidative stress‐induced cognitive impairment. Millets exert neuroprotective effects by modulating pathways involved in neuronal‐survival, synaptic‐plasticity, and release of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor. Millets demonstrates anti‐inflammatory properties by regulating inflammatory‐pathways and suppressing cytokines associated with cognitive impairment. Millets maintain healthy gut microbiota by producing metabolites such as short‐chain fatty acids, which influence brain function and cognition. However, further research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and on optimizing the proportion do exploit its potential. Implementing millet‐based dietary strategies through public health initiatives and educational programs can be a practical approach to support cognitive health across populations. Harnessing the potential of millets as a nutritional intervention offers a promising avenue for promoting cognitive health and improving the quality of life.

The nutrition and therapeutic potential of millets: an updated narrative review

“…Complex mixtures of polyphenols in sorghum grain extracts, such as 3-deoxyanthocyanidins (DXA) have the potential to inhibit neurotoxic aggregation to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease ( 116 ). Millets have also demonstrated neuroprotective effects in Parkinson’s disease and other cognitive disorders ( 117 ).…”