Project Number: 5430-44000-016-01
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Jul 01, 2008
End Date: Jun 30, 2013

Objective:
The objectives of this research are: (1) Evaluate starch and protein digestibility of select sorghum lines and (2) Develop rapid reference methods to assess amylose-amylopectin ratios as well as amylopectin branch ratios in wheat and sorghum starch.

Approach:
Sorghum samples currently used for development of gluten-free foods will be analyzed for starch and protein digestibility using conventional pepsin digestion (protein) and the Englyst method (starch). The results will be used to evaluate rapid methods using specific labeling, gel permeation chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) for determination of amylose amylopectin ratios and amylopectin branching. Digestibility will be performed using rapid fluoremetric methods.