Author
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SINGH, VIJAY - UNIV OF ILLINOIS,URBANA |
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Moreau, Robert |
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Hicks, Kevin |
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Submitted to: Cereal Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 11/15/2002 Publication Date: 4/1/2003 Citation: Cereal Chem. 80:p.126-129, 2003 Interpretive Summary: Corn fiber oil was previously shown to contain high levels of cholesterol-lowering compounds called phytosterols. Since grain sorghum has many similar properties to corn, including its ability to be "wet milled" to isolate starch and four other fractions, this study was undertaken to compare the composition of phytosterols in the five sorghum wet milling fractions. The results indicated that sorghum kernels contain about one third less total phytosterols than corn kernels. Like corn, the fiber oil from sorghum was rich in phytosterols, but unlike corn fiber oil, sorghum fiber oil contained very high levels of waxes. The presence of these waxes in sorghum fiber oil may preclude its use as a source of phytosterols, but the waxes may have valuable industrial uses. Sorghum producers and processors will benefit from this work if it leads to new products. Technical Abstract: Corn fiber has been shown to contain an oil that contains high levels of three potential cholesterol-lowering phytosterol compounds. Little information is available about the levels and types of phytosterols in sorghum. In this study phytosterols were evaluated in grain sorghum and its wet milled fractions and were compared with the phytosterols in corn. The study shows that sorghum kernels can provide a significant source of two phytosterol classes, free phytosterols (St) and fatty acyl phytosterol esters (St:E). Most of these phytosterols are concentrated in the wet milled fiber fraction followed by the germ fraction. In addition to phytosterols, other lipid classes such as wax esters and an aldehyde (C28 and C30) are also present in the sorghum oil. Comparison of sorghum and corn kernels show that corn has 72 to 93% more phytosterols than sorghum |
