Localization of phenolic acids and antioxidant activity in sorghum kernels

White and red of sorghum grains were sequentially pearled into 11 pearling fines and the corresponding 11 pearled kernels to study the localization of phenolic acids within sorghum grains. All fractions were analyzed for phenolic acids content by HPLC and antioxidant capacity by FRAP assays. Four phenolic acids identified in all fractions were caffeic, p-coumaric, ferulic, and sinapic acids. Data showed that the distribution of phenolic acids and antioxidant capacity in two sorghum genotypes was heterogeneous. Around 60% of the phenolic acids and the antioxidant capacity were recovered in the initial three pearling fine fractions that constituted about 20% surface removal. The concentrations of the phenolic acids decreased significantly with sequential pearling. Significant correlation between total phenolic acids and antioxidant capacity was observed with all fractions except for the first pearling fines from the red sorghum.