Teff - Fact Sheet

Written by

Kudzai Musengi - African Food Enthusiast, Founder of Sensational Seasonals

Researched by

Trust Nyirenda - PhD (Plant Medicine) Inview, MSc Medicine

Elliot Nyagumbo - MPhil (Ethnopharmacology and Toxicology), MSc (Plant Biotechnology), BSc (Plant Biochemistry)

FACT SHEET

WHAT IS THE PLANT

Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter belongs to the family Poaceae, subfamily Eragrostoideae, tribe Eragrosteae and genus Eragrostis known as Tef/Teff or Lovegrass.

ABSTRACT

Tef, Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter sometimes spelled Teff, is a tropical cereal. Cereals are the staples, major source of carbohydrates, and energy and dietary pillar for the people around the world. Due to the small size of its grains, Tef is almost always made into a whole-grain flour (bran and germ included), resulting in high nutrient content and probiotic potential. Consuming Tef is reported to prevent malaria and anaemia related to pregnancy and hookworm. The amino acid composition of Tef flour is favourable and its protein is easily digestible. It is a good source of minerals, particularly manganese, copper, phosphorus, iron, manganese, calcium and zinc. The mineral content of Tef varies according to several factors, such as climatic conditions and species. All Tef species are known to have significantly higher mineral content than wheat, maize and rice. The crop's gluten-free nature provides an excellent alternative for people who experience coeliac disease and gluten intolerance without compensating the nutritional quality. The consumption of whole grains is strongly associated with reduced risk of acute and chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, namely colorectal cancer. The medicinal value and use has been attributed to raising calcium levels in serum, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-hyperlipedemic and anti-hyperglycemic activities. The average consumption of the cereal does not pose any health risk. Therefore Tef grains can be recommended as a valuable and safe source of minerals and trace elements.

IMAGE

WHERE IS IT FOUND

Originated and diversified in Ethiopia.

ETHNOMEDICAL USES

According to Molineaux and Biru, 1965; Tadesse, 1969 reported that non-Tef consumers have a lower level of haemoglobin, and hookworm anaemia develops in non-Tef eaters if they are infested with hookworm. On the other hand, since Tef eaters have higher levels of haemoglobin in their blood, they do not suffer from hookworm anaemia even when infested. In addition, according to the same study, malaria is frequently ‘found in the groups with lower haemoglobin levels. Moreover, consuming Tef is reported to prevent the anaemia related to pregnancy (Ketema, 1997). Different medical and epidemiological studies steadily reported that higher consumptions of whole grains are sturdily connected with reduced risk of acute and chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, namely colorectal cancer (Hongyu et al., 2015, Aune et al., 2016; Geng et al, 2016; Ravisankar, Abegaz and Awika, 2018). Gebremariam, Zarnkow and Becker, 2014 affirm that Tef can be an alternative to common flours such as wheat, barley, and rye, with the potential to become a raw material in the production of gluten-free options for people with celiac disease. The overall prevalence of celiac disease increased intensely over the past 20 years, and the global prevalence of the disease is 1%. Thus, as the number of diagnoses of this disease increases, so does the demanding for more options of gluten-free options. The range of gluten-free food is limited, which makes them expensive to acquire. Interest in Tef has increased owing to its nutritional and gluten-free profile making it a suitable substitute for wheat especially for people with celiac disease, besides nutritional quality of gluten-free food products is generally lower when compared to that of gluten-containing equivalents. Therefore, this study evaluates the chemical and physical composition of gluten-free breads made with Tef, which could be an alternative for individuals with celiac disease (Homem et al., 2020)

USE AS A FOOD

Tef grains can be used whole or ground into flour, which is the main ingredient of several recipes. The Ethiopian Standard Agency (ESA, 2012) classifies teff grains based on their colour as: very white (magna), white (nech), mixed (sergegna) and brown (key). This flour can be used to make fermented breads such as the typical Ethiopian “Injera” bread, it can be added as a thickening agent of soups, sauces, porridges, and puddings, and it can be fermented to produce traditional drinks and beer and “several wild species of Eragrostis are used in Africa today for food and other purposes (Ketema, 1997). The grain is also used to make local alcoholic drinks, called tela and katikala. Tef grain, owing to its high mineral content, has started to be used in mixtures with soya bean, chickpea and other grains in the baby food industry. Enjera made from Tef is traditionally consumed with wot, a sauce made of meat or ground pulses like lentil, faba bean, field pea, broad bean and chickpea. This indicates that the traditional way of consuming Tef with wot, is wise, since the wot, supplements the lysine deficit in Tef and provides a better balanced diet. Tadesse (1969) suggested that fenugreek (Trigonella foenumgraecum) is a good supplement if used with Tef. In some regions of Ethiopia, e.g. Welo, women usually prepare enjera by adding some fenugreek to Tef to improve its baking quality. Because of this, the enjera becomes softer and has a shiny appearance. Thus women should be encouraged to continue this traditional practice and be made aware that their practice not only has the benefit of improving the baking quality of the enjera but also of supplementing its protein content, especially lysine. The most popular and widely preferred form of enjera is prepared from unmixed pure Tef flour. The next preferred enjera is the one prepared by mixing Tef flour with the flour of other cereals such as barley, wheat, maize or sorghum (Ketema, 1997).

NUTRITIONAL CONTENT

Nutrients

Macronutrients

The seeds of E. tef have a high nutritive value providing appropriate requirements of carbohydrates, proteins, potassium, calcium, and vitamin B1 to human diet as well as unsaturated fatty acids (El-Alfy, Ezzat and Sleem, 2012). The pigmentations in coloured tef classes are rich in polyphenols and tannins, which can have antioxidant benefits. The composition of Tef is similar to that of millet, although it contains generally higher amounts of the essential amino acids, including lysine, the most limiting amino acid which is higher than that of all cereals except rice and oats, (Zhu, 2018). The fractional composition of the protein in Tef indicated that glutelins and albumins were the major protein storage components and their order of fractional importance was: glutelins 44.55% > albumins 36.6% > prolamin 11.8% > globulins 6.7% (Mulugeta 1978). In Tef seed the distribution of protein, percentage of ash and mineral elements is higher in the pericarp than in the endosperm (Mulugeta 1978). Tef grains are reported to contain 9–11 per cent protein, an amount slightly higher than in normal sorghum, maize, or oats. However, samples tested in the United States have consistently shown even higher protein levels: 14-15 per cent. The protein's digestibility is probably high because the main protein fractions—albumin, glutelin, and globulin—are the most digestible types. The albumin fraction is particularly rich in lysine. Judging by the response from Americans allergic to wheat, Tef is essentially free of gluten, the protein that causes bread to rise. Nonetheless, Tef used in injera does ‘rise’ (National Research Council, 1996). The European Commision (2009) regulation stated that foods containing less than 20 mg/kg may be labeled as ‘gluten free’, if between 20 and 100 mg/kg as ‘low gluten’ and those of greater than 100 mg/kg as gluten containing foods. Technological removal of gluten from naturally gluten containing cereal is very expensive, thus there is a need for naturally gluten free cereals. The gluten content of the tef varieties ranged from 7.4 to 14.5 mg/kg, rendering classification of tef as a gluten free cereal grain (Shumoy, Pattyn and Raes, 2018).

Micronutrients

Micronutrients, including minerals and phytochemicals, are also vital for Tef nutritional evaluation. The mineral content of Tef varies according to several factors, such as climatic conditions and species. However, all Tef species are known to have significantly higher mineral content than wheat, maize and rice. Minerals can be used in metabolic function and absorbed in the small intestine by the human body. As for phytochemicals like phytates and tannin, pigmented Tef varieties have higher phytochemical contents than other cereals, which are critical to health due to its anti-diabetic and anti-cancer properties (Schlemmer et al., 2009). Phytochemical analysis indicated the presence of flavonoids, saponins, tannin, glycosides, and steroids. (Akansha and Chauhan, 2020). Tef contains more calcium, copper, zinc, aluminium and barium than winter wheat, barley and sorghum (Ketema, 1997; Baye, 2014). The plant contains minerals [Na, P, K, Mg and Ca] and trace elements [Mn, Zn, Fe, Cu, Be, Ni, Al, Ga, Co., Li, Sc, Ag, Sr, Ba, Tl, Bi, Ce, Cs, Ho, Ta, Tb, U, Y, Cr, Se, Sn, As, Pb, Hg, Cd and Ti] (Koubová et al., 2018; Akansha and Chauhan, 2020; Dame, 2020). It has a relatively high iron content owing to its contaminants, which peak during threshing on the ground (Ketema, 1997).

PHARMACOLOGY

Pharmacology

Boka, Woldegiorgis and Haki, 2013 found out that brown Tef has the highest phenolic and antioxidant activities compared with white Tef. Similar studies include that of Kotoskova et al., 2015; Yun and Park, 2018; Šťastná et al., 2019; Akansha and Chauhan, 2020, examined the antioxidant activities of different Tef flour varieties. In vitro oxidative activities in Tef can improve the haemoglobin level and can potentially prevent diabetes and anaemia (Barretto et al., 2021) Most of the functional antioxidants of cereal grains such as phenolic acids, phytosterols, alkylresorcinols, lignans, and folates are concentrated in the outer seed cover (Ravisankar, Abegaz and Awika, 2018). The fixed seeds oil and ethanolic extract of the seeds had proved the plant’s medicinal importance exhibiting anti-hyperlipedemic and anti-hyperglycemic properties. The fixed oil can also raise calcium levels in serum that can help in accelerating healing of bone fractures (El-Alfy, Ezzat and Sleem, 2012). Antimicrobial properties (Nigatu and Gashe, 1997).

It appears the extractable phenolic compounds in Tef grain are almost exclusively flavones, primarily their C-glycosides. Distinct differences exist between flavone profile of white versus brown Tef, where white Tef contains only apigenin glycosides, whereas brown Tef contains mostly luteolin glycosides; this indicates key differences in their flavonoid biosynthetic pathways. Surprisingly, though, the overall flavone contents were similar between the red and white Tef. Furthermore, the bound fractions of the white and brown Tef extracts contained similar profiles and levels of phenolic acids. Thus the differences in pericarp color between white and brown Tef cannot be attributed to phenolic profile obtained by standard protocols. Using microwave energy to catalyze acid-induced thermal hydrolysis and oxidation of unextractable residues, demonstrated that condensed tannins are likely present as procyanidins in unextractable form in the brown, but not white, Tef. This is the most likely explanation for the dark pericarp color of the brown Tef. Data fund indicated that Tef grains contain particularly high levels of flavones, much higher than reported in other cereal grains, or other food commodities. This renders Tef a valuable source of the relatively rare dietary flavones; and also an excellent model to investigate the bioactive properties of cereal flavones in a natural food matrix (Ravisankar, Abegaz and Awika, 2018).

Thus, whole grains naturally contain a high amount of phenolic compounds that contribute to positive health benefits. The dominant phenolic compounds were protocatechuic, vanillic, syringic, p-coumaric, sinapic, ferulic acids, rosmarinic acids, catechin and naringenin (El-Alfy, Ezzat and Sleem, 2012; Ravisankar, Abegaz and Awika, 2018). A chemical study of the red type of Tef seeds led to the isolation of seven compounds from its ethanol extract, namely-sitosterol (1),-amyrin-3-O-(20-acetyl-(glucoside (2), -sitosterol-3-O--D-glucoside (3), naringenin (4), naringenin-40-methoxy-7-O- -L-rhamnoside (5), eriodictyol-30, 7-dimethoxy-40-O--D-glucoside (6) and isorhamnetin-3-O- rhamnoglucoside (7) (El-Alfy, Ezzat and Sleem, 2012).

Toxicity

It should be highlighted that tef originating in the USA contained substantial amounts of zinc. An arsenic concentration higher than the average arsenic content in cereals consumed in the EU was recorded in brown tef from Bolivia harvested in 2017. The contribution of Tef to the Provisional tolerable weekly intake and Provisional tolerable monthly intake for male-80 kg/female-65 kg with a serving size of Tef set at 100 g, for metals it was within the limits set by the FAO/WHO. Therefore, average Tef consumption does not pose a health risk (Koubová et al., 2018).

OTHER INTERESTING USES

Animal feed

Tef is predominantly grown in Ethiopia as a cereal crop and not as a forage crop. However, when grown as a cereal, farmers highly value the straw of Tef and it is stored and used as a very important source of animal feed, especially during the dry season. Farmers feed Tef straw preferentially to lactating cows and working oxen. Cattle prefer Tef straw to the straw of any other cereal and its price is higher than that of other cereals. According to Aredo and Musimba, 2003, the quantity and quality of residues from various cereal crops vary greatly depending on the crop species. Wheat and barley usually give high straw yields, though of inferior quality. Among cereals, Tef straw is relatively the best and is comparable to a good natural pasture. The same source indicated that the performance of animals on residue diets is also known to vary depending on the crop species. The highest daily weight gain was obtained using Tef straw (Ketema, 1997).

Potential as food, feed and other products

Fermented foods from whole grain flour dough by lactic acid bacteria and yeast have pre- and probiotic potential (Girma, Bultosa and Bussa, 2013; Mezemir, 2015). Since the protein content of Tef is comparable to that of barley, millet, maize and wheat, and higher than that of sorghum, rice, and rye, Tef has found its way in fermentation, malting and brewing applications. The crop's high malt quality and germinate energy, lack of gluten and high carbohydrate content make it a feasible raw material for brewing gluten-free beverages (Gebremariam et al., 2014) and gluten-free lactic acid-fermented beverages (Gebremariam et al., 2015). However, different Tef varieties yield different malt quality attributes (Gebremariam et al., 2013). Yizgaw et al., 2004 cited that fermentation improves mineral bioavailability and increases protein content; hence, when Tef is fermented, its protein content further increases. Tef can also be used as fat replacers in the manufacture of low-calorie foods due to its high viscosity and reduced gelling ability When added with stearic acid, food-grade starch may be recovered, which can further provide promising food applications due to the non-gelling behaviour, and early high paste viscosity. The compositional analysis of Tef grain is essential in the manufacture of new and improved products with added health benefits. Apart from the grains, Tef straw can also be utilized in biomethane and biogas production (Chufo et al., 2015). Tef husk can also be used in waste-water treatment (Tadesse et al., 2015) via the production of activated carbon adsorbent (Barretto et al., 2021).

Figure 2: illustrates a general overview of tef uses in food, beverages, feeds and industrial applications Barretto et al., 2021.

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