Nutritional composition of a selected white food-grade waxy sorghum variety grown in Mediterranean environment

Abstract

A white food-grade waxy sorghum Tw variety, grown in two Mediterranean sites (named Tw1M and Tw1S) was evaluated for nutrient composition and fatty acid- and mineral concentrations in order to determine the suitability of producing waxy sorghum for human uses in southern Italy. The nutritional values of the grains of the Tw inbred line grown in the two trial fields were substantially the same, except for slight differences in ash level and accordingly slight variation in mineral composition. In samples from both locations, a higher percentage of K was observed among the nutritionally essential macro-elements, and higher percentages of Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, Al among the nutritionally essential micro-element along with a strong difference in Cd content was among trace elements. Across both sites linoleic, oleic and palmitic were the most abundant fatty acids, while very slight variations in the content of minerals were found among the two samples examined. These results demonstrate the importance of developing agronomically productive waxy sorghum varieties suitable for growth in non-traditional sorghum producing regions both as a food and feed crop (i.e. with good nutritional quality) and for utilization in new products at the industrial level.

Sorghum Grains Grading for Food, Feed, and Fuel Using NIR Spectroscopy

“…Hull-less hybrids (Awanlek, 624A × Awanlek, AMP450 × Awanlek, and AMP450 × J7645Z) having low tannin, starch, cellulose, and hemicellulose content were used for feed. Similar to previous studies, the content of fat, lignin, and ash in both food and feed samples (hull-less) was nearly in the same range (Pontieri et al, 2010 ; Waniska et al, 2016 ; Beloshapka et al, 2016 ). Due to the non-digestible nature of hemicellulose and the bitter taste of tannin, these components are not desirable for food and feed, which leads to conclude that hull-less samples can be used as food ( Table 1 ).…”

“…The food and feed samples contained tannin and hemicellulose content < 15 and 50 g kg −1 , respectively. The samples having starch < 650 g kg −1 (65%) were classified as feed and ≥ 650 g kg −1 (65%) were classified as food samples (Pontieri et al, 2010 ; Waniska et al, 2016 ; Beloshapka et al, 2016 ). Following the chemical properties, 14 samples were classified for food, 21 samples for feed, 38 samples for fuel, and 25 samples classified for both feed and fuel.…”

Chemical Composition, Fatty Acid and Mineral Content of Food-Grade White, Red and Black Sorghum Varieties Grown in the Mediterranean Environment

“…Total lipid content was measured as described by Pontieri et al [30]. Briefly, approximately 3 g of grain was ground with liquid nitrogen using a mortar and pestle and lyophilized with the FTS-System Flex-DryTM instrument.…”

“…Esterification of fatty acids from the crude extracts and subsequent gas chromatographic analysis of the fatty acid methyl esters was carried out as described previously [30,31]. Briefly, solid sorghum fat was melted in an oven at 50 • C to determinate its composition.…”

“…Substantial research has been conducted with the aim of developing the cultivation of sorghum lines in the Mediterranean area for use in production of human food products [8,[30][31][32]. With that overall goal, the focus of this research was to compare the nutritional composition of sorghum varieties that differed in pericarp colour to (1) determine how nutritional properties other than phenolic content varied and (2) identify varieties with improved nutritional characteristics in addition to phenolic content and thus provide greater potential health value for consumers.…”