Tannin analysis in sorghum grains

Abstract

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) contains a wide variety of phenolic compounds and their levels and types depend on the genotype. Sorghums with a pigmented testa contain condensed tannins, which are concentrated in the pigmented testa. In this chapter, three methods of tannin analysis are described: (1) Chlorox bleach test; (2) modified vanillin-HCl assay; and (3) normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (NP-HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The Chlorox bleach test is a rapid and inexpensive method that identifies non-tannin and tannin sorghums. The modified vanillin-HCl assay is a colorimetric assay that provides relative tannin values among sorghum samples. The normal-phase HPLC with fluorescence detection separates and quantifies condensed tannins according to their degree of polymerization and confirms the presence or absence of tannins.