CHANGES IN TANNIN AND CYANIDE CONTENTS AND DIASTIC ACTIVITY DURING GERMINATION AND THE EFFECT OF TRADITIONAL PROCESSING ON CYANIDE CONTENT OF SORGHUM CULTIVARS
Sb. Ahmed et al., CHANGES IN TANNIN AND CYANIDE CONTENTS AND DIASTIC ACTIVITY DURING GERMINATION AND THE EFFECT OF TRADITIONAL PROCESSING ON CYANIDE CONTENT OF SORGHUM CULTIVARS, Food chemistry, 56(2), 1996, pp. 159-162
Investigation of three sorghum cultivars showed that tannin content of
ungerminated seeds were 220, 410 and 400 mg/100 g for Waznashra, Fete
rita and Gadamelhamam cultivars, respectively. For all cultivars, unge
rminated seeds were found to contain no free or total cyanide. Their d
iastatic activities (the combined alpha- and beta-amylase activities)
mere found to be zero. For all cultivars, tannin content was slightly
increased when seeds were germinated for different periods. Both free
and total cyanide were significantly increased with the length time of
germination for all cultivars. Fermentation and heat treatment of ger
minated seeds significantly reduced cyanide content and only traces we
re detected in the final product (Hulu-murr and Merissa). Fermentation
alone was found to reduce cyanide content, although not as much as wh
en it was accompanied by heat treatment. Diastatic activity markedly i
ncreased with time of germination for Feterita and Gadamelhamam cultiv
ars while for Waznashra it increased markedly up to day 3 after which
it started to decline rapidly. Results indicated that germination of s
orghum seeds for different periods increased tannin and cyanide conten
ts, while changes in diastatic activity depend on type of cultivar. Tr
aditional processing was found to reduce cyanide contents of germinate
d seeds. Copyright (C) 1996 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd