In sorghum brewing, obtaining sufficient Free Amino Nitrogen (FAN) for rapid and complete fermentation remains a problem due to the high proportions of unmalted sorghum used and the poor digestibility of wet-heat treated sorghum protein. Sorghum mutant lines with high protein digestibility have been developed through breeding. These high protein digestibility sorghums (HPDS) have protein bodies with villi-like borders that apparently facilitate protease access. This work investigated FAN production from HPDS when malted and mashed, to assess their potential for use in sorghum brewing to improve wort FAN levels. When malted, HPDS contained substantially higher levels of FAN than normal protein digestibility sorghums (NPDS), 32 mg/100 g malt more. However, when the HPDS were mashed either as malt, or as grain or malt plus exogenous proteases, FAN production during mashing was not substantially higher than with NPDS subjected to the same treatments, only 6, 6-18 and 9-13 mg/100 g grain or malt, respectively. This is probably due to wet-heat induced cross-linking of the kafirin proteins reducing their susceptibility to proteolysis. Notwithstanding this, HPDS could be very useful for improving FAN levels in sorghum brewing if they are malted.

The sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] germplasms ATx3363 (Reg. No. GP‐731, PI 668028) and BTx3363 (Reg. No. GP‐732, PI 668029) were developed and released by Texas AgriLife Research sorghum breeding program in 2012. Tx3363 is a grain sorghum seed parent designed to produce a very dark‐colored (i.e., black) grain hybrid in combination with Tx3362. BTx3363 was developed with pedigree selection methods and the male sterile version (ATx3363) was developed via backcrossing using ATx623 as a source of A1 cytoplasm. Grain produced from the combination of Tx3363/Tx3362 has potential use and application as a natural colorant and source of antioxidants. The color is associated with high levels of 3‐deoxyanthocyanins in the pericarp of the grain. Therefore, they have application as natural colorants in many processed food products. Because these compounds are present in the pericarp, they are easily concentrated by simply decorticating the grain and collecting the resulting bran. Tx3363 sorghum germplasm can be used as a seed parent to produce hybrids rich in 3‐deoxyanthocyanins or as a breeding parent to produce additional lines with this unique characteristic.

Caffeine is a secondary metabolite extensively studied for its stimulatory properties and presumed association with specific pathologies. This alkaloid is typically consumed through coffee, tea, and other plant products but is also an additive in many medications and confectionaries. Nonetheless, despite its worldwide consumption and acceptance, there is controversial evidence as to whether its effects on the central nervous system should be interpreted as stimulatory or as an addiction in which typical withdrawal effects are canceled out with its daily consumption. The following discussion is the product of an extensive review of current scientific literature, which aims to describe the most salient topics associated with caffeine's purpose in nature, biosynthesis, metabolism, physiological effects, toxicity, extraction, industrial use and current plant breeding approaches for the development of new caffeine deficient varieties as a more economical option to the industrially decaffeinated coffees currently available to caffeine intolerant consumers. Keywords: biosynthesis, decaffeination, extraction, metabolism, physiological effects, plant breeding.

Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites ubiquitously distributed in the plant kingdom which come in a wide array of molecular configurations which confer them a comprehensive set of chemical attributes such as, but not limited to: nutraceutical properties, industrial applications (e.g., dyes, rawhide processing, beer production, antioxidants), and plant self-defense mechanisms against natural enemies also known as the Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR).However, despite the fact, that there is a large number of phenolic-containing food products (e.g., chocolate, green tea, wines, beer, wood barrel-aged spirits, cherries, grapes, apples, peaches, plums, pears, etc.), coffee remains, in the western hemisphere, as the main source of dietary phenolic compounds reflected by the fact that, in the international market, coffee occupies the second trading position after oil and its derivatives. The following discussion is the product of an extensive review of scientific literature that aims to describe essential topics related to coffee phenolic compounds, especially chlorogenic acids, their purpose in nature, biosynthesis, determination, metabolism, chemical properties, and their effect on cup quality. Keywords: phenolic acids, caffeoylquinic acid, antioxidant capacity, metabolism, biosynthesis.

El café es una de las bebidas más consumidas en el mundo y su popularidad no está basada en su valor nutricional o sus potenciales beneficios a la salud, si no en su sabor placentero y las propiedades estimulantes de la cafeína. Esto es respaldado por las últimas estadísticas publicadas por la Organización Internacional del Café (ICO, por sus siglas en inglés) según la cual aproximadamente 1.4 billones de tazas de café son consumidas diariamente además del hecho de que la taza de consumo global se ha duplicado en los últimos 50 años por causa de la apertura de nuevos mercados. La amplia aceptación del café está ligada a sus propiedades sensoriales las cuales a su vez están fuertemente influenciadas por una cadena de eventos que inician desde la cosecha y las practicas postcosecha (i.e., fermentación, lavado, secado, tamizado, eliminación de granos defectuosos y almacenamiento), seguidas por el tueste, molido y empacado del producto para su posterior comercialización. No obstante, existen otros factores que también afectan las propiedades organolépticas de la bebida tales como, pero no limitado a: el pH y temperatura del agua, las mezclas realizadas antes o después del tueste, la especie y/o variedad de café, las adulteraciones, la incorporación de aditivos, el método de preparación de la bebida, el tipo de recipiente en el que se sirve la infusión, entre otros. El presente artículo presenta una breve descripción de los factores que afectan la calidad de la taza relacionados con el procesamiento del grano oro del café. Sin embargo, aunque los factores ya mencionados son tomados en consideración por los catadores, para fines comerciales, la calidad del café está y siempre estará en manos del consumidor. Después de todo la mejor prueba es cuando la persona lo prueba. Palabras clave: organoléptica, perfil de tueste, endotérmica, exotérmico, ma-croscópica, microscópica, reacción Maillard, caramelización.

The sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] cultivar CI0947bmr (Reg. No. CV‐137, PI 672153) was jointly developed and released by the Centro Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria y Forestal (CENTA) research program in El Salvador and the Texas A&M Agrilife Research sorghum breeding program in 2013. CI0947bmr is a brown midrib (bmr), dual‐purpose sorghum selected for productivity in Central American environments. CI0947bmr was developed from a pedigree breeding program, and it was derived from a BC1F2 population of the pedigree B03292bmr/Tortillero//Tortillero. All generation advancement and selection were completed in San Andres, El Salvador. To confirm performance of the line, CI0947bmr was evaluated in replicated yield trials in 10 Central American environments ranging from Panama to Guatemala in 2010 and 2011. Compared with Sureno (a non‐bmr dual‐purpose sorghum cultivar grown in the region), CI0947bmr is similar in maturity, dry biomass yield, grain yield, and composition, with lower concentration of lignin and higher in vitro dry matter digestibility and total digestible nutrients. Given these characteristics, CI0947bmr can be used for forage production (grazing and silage) or for grain production with the post‐harvest plant residue suitable as forage. In addition, producers can save seed for replanting. This cultivar is designed to provide small livestock producers and dairies in Central America with access to sorghum forage with improved forage quality without sacrificing dry matter yield, grain yield, or grain quality.

Melanoidins are brown pigments thermally generated during the non-enzymatic Maillard reaction and are present in a large number of baked and roasted food products (e.g., bakery products, dark beer, coffee, etc.), conferring their typical color and improving their appearance, which is usually considered, by the end-consumer, as an indicator of quality; After all, quality is in the eye of the beholder. The amount of melanoidins varies depending on the precursors’ concentration and the type of processing to which a given food product is submitted (baking time + temperature). Additionally, melanoidins have been in our diets for millennia, not only improving the organoleptic qualities of food but also exerting a great array of physiological benefits directly linked to their chemical composition, molecular conformation, and structural size. Aside from their prebiotic effects, melanoidins also display other beneficial properties, among which the most salient are their antioxidant capacity, antibacterial and chelating activities, and anticancer action. However, regardless of the plethora of in vitro experimental evidence that validates the properties mentioned above, there is still controversy about their significance for human health since many of these properties seem to be associated with high molecular weight melanoidins, which, because of their size, cannot cross the intestinal wall suggesting their action is relegated to the intestinal tract where after being fermented and fragmented are finally converted in a series of metabolic derivatives some of which manage to cross into the bloodstream while others are simply excreted through the feces. The following is a synthesis collected from the available scientific literature which aims to elucidate several aspects of melanoidins (i.e., synthesis, determination, metabolism, & biological activity) to create awareness about their importance for human health and provide information about where to find them to improve our diets. Keywords: Synthesis, fractionation, separation, antioxidant activity.

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