Assessment of Algerian sorghum protein quality [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] using amino acid analysis and in vitro pepsin digestibility

To assess the protein quality and the nutritive value of seven Algerian local sorghum cultivars, the in vitro pepsin digestibility was determined, which ranged from 25.0% to 65.0%, and the amino acid composition of each cultivar was compared with other sorghum cultivars. In addition, the amino acid scores (AAS) and the protein digestibility-corrected amino acid scores (PDCAAS) were calculated. Relative to the WHO protein standard, most of the sorghum cultivars tested, scored very high AAS, with values ranging between 0.9 and 2.6 except for lysine, methionine and cysteine. The PDCAAS were high for Ain Salah cultivars AS1 and AS3, however, all other cultivars showed low values except for leucine. This study confirmed that in terms of both quantity and quality, sorghum proteins could serve as a source of essential amino acids and as a potential source of proteins in the future. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.