Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Antioxidant Compounds
Antioxidant activity of various foods is significantly correlated with total phenols
and tannins and based on this feature; sorghum foods were shown to possess
antioxidant activity [
113
], hence prevents a plethora of physiological complications
like cancer, early aging, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases [
114
]. The quantity
of antioxidant activity is based on the processing of sorghum samples and
decorticated sorghum; cooking based on extrusion was shown to reduce the phenol
content and accordingly the antioxidant activity [
115
]. To obtain the whole health
benefits of sorghum, it is better to select a process which retains its total phenolic
contents. Pigmented testa contains condensed tannins composed of flavan-3-ols
which are excellent antioxidants [
116
]. The tannin sorghum contains high dietary
fiber content which slows the hydrolysis of food in the GI tract and the calorific
availability which may be responsible for reduced weight gain (antiobesity effect)
in
animals.
Pigmented
sweet
sorghums
have
high
concentration
of
3-deoxyanthocyanins (luteolinidin and apigenidin) [
117
].
Antimicrobial Compounds
Studies conducted on the antimicrobial properties of sorghum extracts showed
strong inhibitory activity against
Escherichia coli
[
118
]. The antimicrobial property
of sweet sorghum against a specific microorganism is based on the type of cultivar
as the antimicrobial property of a plant extract is based not only on the phenolic
content but also on the presence of various secondary metabolites [
119
].
Cytotoxicity Against Cancer Cell Lines
Sorghum grain contains retrodihydrochalcones, 3-(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)-1-
(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propan-1-one, and 3-(2,6-dihydrox-4-methoxyphenyl)-1-
(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propan-1-one which are cytotoxic in nature against various
human cancer cell lines [
116
]. However, future studies are required to evaluate
the cytotoxic effects of retrodihydrochalcones from sweet sorghum.
Polylactic Acid
Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable thermoplastic resin that can be substituted
for petroleum-based thermoplastics, reducing environmental pollution and other
problems associated with petroleum-based plastics [
120
]. Lactic acid can be pro-
duced either through chemical synthesis or through a fermentation process
[
121
]. Agro-based materials such as cereal grains like corn, sorghum, and sweet
sorghum bagasse are major potential sources to produce lactic acid through
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