Cereal Chem. 71:275-278   |  VIEW ARTICLE


Factors Affecting the Color and Appearance of Sorghum Starch.

V. Subramanian, R. C. Hoseney, and P. Bramel-Cox. Copyright 1994 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Seven cultivars of grain sorghum with various seed colors were studied for the presence of light-absorbing substances in the grain and starch. A corn sample was used for comparison. Starch was isolated from both sorghum and corn. Corn starch was bright in appearance and had a yellowish tinge. Sorghum starch from the cultivars Dorado, UANL-1-V-187, and Blanco 88 was also bright in appearance and white; the seed color was pale yellow. Although Sorghum cultivar Dekalb 42Y had a pale yellow seed color, it yielded a dull-appearing starch. Kansas local, Bajio, and Tamaulipas cultivars had reddish-brown seed color and also yielded dull-appearing starch that had a reddish tint. It appears that the presence of certain alcohol-soluble components contributes to the dullness of some sorghum starches, because extraction of dull starch with methanol resulted in a brighter starch. Dehulling of the grain before starch isolation improved the appearance of starch. A simple alkali test on the grain was effective in predicting the dullness of starch.