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Alkali Debranning of Sorghum and Millet

¹Department of Agricultural Engineering, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O.Box 3003, Morogoro, Tanzania. ²Corresponding author: E-mail address: lazaroel@suanet.ac.tz Phone: (056)604216/4348. ³Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom.

Aqueous solutions of sodium hydroxide were used to debran whole sorghum and millet grains. The alkali solution was effective in dissolving the pericarp, leaving the kernel free of pericarp. Various combinations of concentration of sodium hydroxide (3, 6, and 10%, w/w) and soaking duration (5, 8, and 10 min) were investigated. Two cultivars of sorghum (Dionje and Jumbo) and one cultivar of pearl millet (IM) were used in the study. A 10% aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide at 60°C was most effective in dissolving the pericarp of both sorghum and millet after 10 min of soaking, resulting in ≈90% yield of clean endosperm for all grain types. The debranning process reduced the fiber content (measured as crude fiber) of sorghum cultivars Dionje and Jumbo by 37.6 and 41.8%, respectively; and pearl millet by 32%.