Physico-chemical properties and nutrient composition of sorghum grain and flour of two different varieties

Abstract

Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal crop in the world after rice, wheat, corn and barley. It is the main cereal food for over 750 million people living in semi-arid tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America. The largest producers are the United States (almost 17% of world production), with yields obviously much higher, followed by India, Nigeria, China, Mexico, Sudan and Argentina. The physico-chemical properties of sorghum varieties viz., HC 308 and HJ 513 indicated that their swelling capacity was 0.29 and 0.26 ml/seed, respectively. Water absorption of HC-308 and HJ-513 was 1.16 and 1.03g per g, respectively. The water absorption capacity of sorghum flour could be attributed to high amount of carbohydrate and fibre in this flour. Oil absorption of HC-308 and HJ-513 was 2.90 and 2.86g per g, respectively. HJ-513 sorghum variety had higher crude protein content than HC 308 but almost similar to that of wheat control (11.55%). Crude fat contents of HC-308, HJ-513 and wheat (control) were found to be 2.89, 3.17 and 3.07 per cent, respectively which were almost similar. Crude fibre contents of HJ-513 (2.16%) and HC 308 (2.09 %) were significantly (p≤0.05) higher than that of the wheat control i.e.1.72 per cent. Ash contents of both the sorghum varieties i.e HC-308 (1.53%) and HJ-513 (1.75%) were almost similar. The total calcium content in wheat (control) was higher (53.57 mg/100g) in comparison to 31.96 and 32.43 mg/100g present in HC-308 and HJ-513 varieties of sorghum, respectively