Cereal Chem 64:42-46   |  VIEW ARTICLE

Free Phenolic Compounds and Tannins in Sorghum Caryopsis and Glumes During Development.

C. A. Doherty, R. D. Waniska, L. W. Rooney, C. F. Earp, and J. H. Poe. Copyright 1987 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Caryopses and glumes of sorghum cultivars varying in type (I, II, or III), and pericarp and glume colors were analyzed for easily extractable (free) phenolic compounds (FPC) and tannins at 15 stages of maturity, from anthesis through maturity. Maximum levels of FPC were observed at immature stages of development (5-22 days after anthesis). Levels of FPC in mature caryopses were significantly less than in developing caryopses. Apparently, the phenolic compounds were increasingly bound to cellular components during maturation. Sorghums with a pigmented testa, dominant spreader gene, and darker pericarp and glume colors contained more FPC and tannins than other sorghums. Sorghums with higher levels of FPC generally had increased weathering and midge resistance.