Cereal Chem 42:299 - 302.  |  VIEW ARTICLE

Chemical Studies on Some Nigerian Cereals.

O. L. Oke. Copyright 1965 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

This paper reports on the chemical composition of three Nigerian cereals, maize (Zea mays), grain sorghum (Sorghum spp.), and rice (Oryza sativa). Sorghum is the richest in crude protein (13.0%) and crude fiber (2.9%), maize in caloric value (409.7 cal.), ether extract (4.1%), and ash (3.7%), and rice in carbohydrate (85.7%). In general the mineral content of rice is lowest while that of maize and sorghum follows the same trend. The same thing applies for oxalic and phytic acids. The similarity in chemical composition of maize to sorghum shows that sorghum could replace maize (and vice versa) without significantly changing the nutritive value of the diet.