Aptitude of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench) hybrids for brewery or bio-functional malted beverages

Abstract

The potential of twenty-four hybrids of white (WS) and red sorghum (RS) to produce beer or bio-functional malted beverages was studied. Brewery aptitude was evaluated through diastatic power (DP), β-amylase activity, hot water extract (HWE), and Kolbach index using sorghum malted at 30°C; while bio-functional potential was evaluated through GABA, free amino acids (FAA) content, phenolics, and antioxidant capacity of sorghum malted at 25°C. Only eight hybrids showed DP and β-amylase activity appropriate to brewery industry (≥22°DP/g d.b., and ≥60 UBetamyl/g d.b., respectively). White sorghum hybrid presented better potential for brewing. Levels of GABA were higher for malted RS (33.0–60.6 mg/100 g d.b.) than for WS (18.4–48.1 mg/100 g d.b.). GABA content was predicted taking into account the protein content, color, and ether extract of malted hybrids. Red sorghum hybrid presented better potential for bio-functional beverages, and such aptitude could be predicted from composition. Practical applications: Selecting sorghum hybrids for a particular food is crucial to obtain a product with high quality. There are numerous available sorghum hybrids in the market, and the prediction of the best ones for making functional beverages trough simply equations taking into account chemical composition could be a solution of time and resources for the food industry. On the other hand, we checked the best hybrids in regards to its malting potential in a simple manner. This research established white sorghum hybrids were the best raw materials to produce higher enzymatic activity of malted products for sorghum brewery industry, and red sorghum hybrids were the best ones for bio-functional beverages.