Publication no. C-2004-0310-04R |  VIEW ARTICLE

Sorghum Bran as a Potential Source of Kafirin.

Laura S. da Silva (1) and John R. N. Taylor (1,2). (1) Department of Food Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa. (2) Corresponding author. Phone: +27 12 420 4296. Fax: +27 12 420 2839. E-mail: <jtaylor@postino.up.ac.za> Cereal Chem. 81(3):322-327. Accepted October 30, 2003. Copyright 2004 American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc.

Sorghum bran, a coproduct of sorghum dry milling, could be a source of protein for industrial applications. Condensed tannin-free red and white sorghum samples were decorticated by abrasion until approximately 10 or 25% grain by weight was removed. Kafirin was then extracted from the milling fractions using an aqueous ethanol based solvent system. The brans were darker and considerably higher in protein and fat compared with the whole grain flours and decorticated grain flours, with the 25% bran having higher protein than the 10% bran. This is due to increased contamination of the bran with protein-dense, corneous endosperm. The protein extracted from all the milling fractions, including the brans, was pure kafirin. However, the yield of kafirin from the brans (15.9–26.7% of total protein present) was somewhat lower than that from whole grain and decorticated grain flours (45.0–57.9% of total protein present), due to the fact that kafirin is located solely in the endosperm. Also, the kafirin from bran was more contaminated with fat, polyphenols, and other substances, and more highly colored, particularly the kafirin from red sorghum. Thus, sorghum bran could be used as a source of kafirin but further purification steps may be necessary.