Chemical composition, fatty acid and mineral content of food-grade white, red and black sorghum varieties grown in the Mediterranean environment

Authors: PONTIERI, PAOLA - Istituto Di Bioscienze E Biorisorse-Uos Portici-cnr; TROISI, JACOPO - Theoreo Srl; CALCAGNILE, MATTEO - University Of Salento; Bean, Scott; Tilley, Michael - Mike; Aramouni, Fadi; BOFFA, ANTONIO - Istituto Di Bioscienze E Biorisorse-Uos Portici-cnr; PEPE, GIACOMO - University Of Salerno; DEL GIUDICE, FABIO - Bioteam Laboratory; CHESSA, ALBERTO - Farmer; Smolensky, Dmitriy; ALETTA, MARIAROSARIA - National Research Council - Italy; ALIFANIO, PIETRO - Universita Del Salento; DEL GIUDICE, LUIGI - Istituto Di Bioscienze E Biorisorse-Uos Portici-cnr

Submitted to: Journal of Food Science and Nutrition
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/28/2022
Publication Date: 2/2/2022
Citation: Pontieri, P., Troisi, J., Calcagnile, M., Bean, S.R., Tilley, M., Aramouni, F.M., Boffa, A., Pepe, G., Del Giudice, F., Chessa, A.L., Smolensky, D., Aletta, M., Alifanio, P., Del Giudice, L. 2022. Chemical composition, fatty acid and mineral content of food-grade white, red and black sorghum varieties grown in the Mediterranean environment. Journal of Food Science and Nutrition. 11(3). Article 436. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11030436.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11030436

Interpretive Summary: Sorghum is a widely consumed cereal staple in subtropical and semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia and is the fifth leading cereal crop in the world. The United States is the largest producer and exporter of sorghum, accounting for 20% of world production and almost 80% of world sorghum exports. Sorghum whole grains have been demonstrated to have substantial health benefits, in part as a result of antioxidant active phenolic compounds present in the outer layers of the grain. Several varieties of sorghum exist with a wide range of grain color including black, red, brown and white and the aim of this study was to compare the nutritional properties of sorghum varieties of different grain colors to select varieties with improved nutritional characteristics and with improved health value. A higher amount of total saturated fats was found in the white sorghum, while the black variety had a lower amount of total unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Significant variations in the content of minerals were found with more abundance of important minerals in both red and black sorghum analyzed. This research provided additional information on nutritional quality of sorghum varying in grain color and demonstrates that diversity in sorghum can be used to select sorghum varieties with improved nutritional composition.

Technical Abstract: Whole grain sorghum is a gluten-free cereal grown in many regions worldwide, primarily in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates. Sorghum has many varieties with different colors of pericarp, e.g., white, various shades of red, and black, all of which show health-promoting properties since they are rich sources of antioxidants such as polyphenols, carotenoids, as well as micro- and macronutrients. This work examined the nutrient composition, fatty acid content, and mineral content of three sorghum varieties grown in the Mediterranean region consisting of different pericarp colors: white, red, and black. The three sorghum varieties were analyzed for various attributes including moisture, protein, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, fat and mineral contents, and fatty acid composition. Slight variations in both protein and carbohydrate were observed among varieties, and a higher fiber content was found in both the red and black varieties. A higher amount of total saturated fats was found in the white variety than either the red or the black varieties, while the black variety had a lower amount of total unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats than either the white or red varieties. Oleic, linoleic, and palmitic were the most abundant fatty acids in all three samples of the sorghum varieties analyzed. Significant variations in the content of minerals were found with more abundance of Mg, K, Al, Mn, Fe, Ni, Zn, Pb and U in both red and black than the white sorghum variety analyzed. These results are discussed in the context of the importance of the colored food-grade sorghum in human health nutrition, and of the opportunity to select the best varieties from the point of view of nutritional content, and health-promoting properties.