Finger millet and soybean as functional ingredients in next-generation fermented foods: a review of nutritional, technological, and health-promoting perspectives

Abstract

Finger millet and soybean present strong potential for developing next generation fermented functional foods that address malnutrition, lactose intolerance, and dietary protein deficiencies. Nevertheless, several challenges remain, including fermentation standardization, sensory acceptance, limited infrastructure, and insufficient characterization of microbial communities and bioactive metabolites. Advancing multi-omics research, improving fermentation technologies, and promoting supportive policies and value chains will be critical for translating these crops into scalable, sustainable food innovations.