ABSTRACT
The nutritional well-being and health of its people is the major prerequisite for the development and prosperity of a society. Nutritional well-being depends primarily upon the quality of food. A large segment of the global human population still depend upon staple foods for all their dietary requirements. Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most important cereal crops used as a staple food worldwide, particularly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. It is consumed in different forms in different parts of the world, depending upon the taste and local custom. In the Indian subcontinent, maize flour is used for making chapattis. Maize is also processed and fermented in varied ways in different parts of the world. It is a quick growing plant; 3-4 months after sowing, a single maize kernel produces more than 600 kernels, thus making it one of nature’s fastest multipliers of energy. This energy is stored as starch, oil and protein in the maize kernel.
