Uses of sorghum with tannins for food production

Abstract

Red or brown sorghum with a high content of tannins may be used in the production of foods, if a suitable treatment to reduce their level is applied. Tannins belong to the family of compounds known as polyphenols and possess an interesting antioxidant capacity. However, in the preparation of foods tannins lead to problems of non-acceptance because the flour derived from milling has a brownish coloration and, on the other hand, polyphenols reduce the availability of proteins. The proposed treatment not only reduces such coloration, but also prepares the sorghum grain, improving the properties of milling, increasing the yield and also retaining an antioxidant capacity in the flour that provides functional properties to food. Another difficulty posed by tannins is that they inhibit the action of starch-degrading enzymes in the brewing process, and for this reason their reduction becomes essential to allow enzymatic action. This chapter presents the advances made to turn a well-known but little used cereal in food processing into an attractive product when it is selected to produce economically and nutritionally balanced products for celiacs and people with type II diabetes. The treatment consists of using water as solvent in the extraction, for 2 to 4 hours, depending on the coloration desired and the type of product to be produced, followed by a brief drying, to allow only the outer layer of the cereal to dry, grinding, sieving and separating the fractions for different uses: brewing fermented beverages, flours, starches, etc. This paper presents a global approach for the use of sorghum grain with tannins as an alternative to manufacture functional foods.