Abstract: The chemical and nutritional composition of red millet produced in Nanyang, Henan in different years were analyzed by blender extraction, purification through silica gel chromatography combined with crystallization precipitation, and conventional analyses. Using apigenin as a reference standard, the total flavonoid content in red millet was measured by the sodium nitrite-aluminum nitrate-sodium hydroxide colorimetric method. Vanillin, vanillic acid, β-sitosterol, dibutyl phthalate and apigenin were isolated from red millet for the first time to our knowledge; the total flavonoid content was determined to be 4.91%. Moreover, red millet was found to contain a variety of amino acids; the ratios of essential to total amino acids (EAA/TAA) and essential to non-essential amino acids (EAA/NEAA) were 39.49% and 60.51%, respectively, close to the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) recommended pattern. The major fatty acids were palmitic acid and linoleic acid, oleic acid, and stearic acid, with linoleic acid being the single dominant fatty acid (64.60%). γ-Vitamin E was the most abundant vitamin (2.24 mg/100 g). Mg and P were the most abundant microelements (2 160 and 3 470 mg/kg, respectively).

Key words: red millet; chemical composition; nutritional composition; flavonoids; quantification