Measurement of biological antioxidant activity of seven food-grade sorghum hybrids grown in a Mediterranean environment

Abstract

Sorghum is source of antioxidant compounds including phenolic acids, flavonoids and condensed tannins. In this study, we measured the antioxidant capacity of seven white food-grade sorghum hybrids grown in Southern Italy using the Ty1antiROS cell-based test and the chemical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazolin-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assays. Samples were also analyzed for phenolic contents. Ty1antiROS test showed that all hybrids possessed antioxidant activity and were effective in scavenging the ABTS•+target species but they exerted a weak DPPH•antiradical effect. Furthermore, all samples had similar values for total phenolic content. Statistical analyses showed a positive correlation between the ABTS and DPPH data (R = 0.61) and a weakly positive correlation between the ABTS and Ty1antiROS data (R= 0.38). The utilization of both biological and chemical tests for the antioxidant capacity evaluation make us able to select varieties of sorghum with high antioxidant potential useful to promote human health.