Cereal Chem 48:690 - 698.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
The Protein Content and Amino Acid Composition of Sorghum Grain.

M. Haikerwal and A. R. Mathieson. Copyright 1971 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Determinations of total protein and amino acid composition were made on a number of sorghum samples, including those from two field experiments. It was shown that the germ contained the highest proportion of protein, followed in order by the whole kernel, the endosperm, and the pericarp. The amino acid composition of these parts is different, with higher proportions in the germ than the whole kernel of lysine, histidine, arginine, glycine, aspartic acid, threonine, and valine. An increase in the proportion of the germ raises the total protein and the proportion of certain essential amino acids. Earlier maturing varieties had higher protein contents. The inheritance pattern of protein content is probably not simple. Statistical analysis of the field experiments showed non-significant variations in amino acid composition between individual plants and duplicate analyses, but significant variations between two varieties and their hybrid, and between replicate plots.