2.1. Sample Collection and Preparation

Finger millet varieties which are recommended for cultivation in Sri Lanka by the Department of Agriculture, namely, Ravi, Rawana, and Oshadha, were collected from Field Crops Research and Development Institute (FCRDI), Mahailuppallama, Sri Lanka. These varieties were cultivated in experimental plots in the Low Country Dry Zone, at FCRDI, Mahailuppallama, and the seeds were certified by the Seed Certification Service of Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka.

Finger millet seeds were dehulled (TM 05C, Satake Corporation, Japan), and flours from whole grains were obtained by milling (Pulverisette 14, Fritsch, Germany) and passing through a 0.5 mm sieve. Flours of whole grains were extracted with ethanol and methanol separately. Whole grain flour (100 g) was extracted with the solvent (400 ml) for overnight at room temperature (28 ± 2°C) using a magnetic stirrer and centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 20 min. The supernatant was collected separately, and the residue was reextracted twice using the same conditions. The supernatants were combined and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure at 40°C using a rotary evaporator (R-114, Büchi Labortechnik AG, Switzerland). The solvent-free extracts were stored in airtight glass containers at -20°C until use for the analysis.