Insight into molecular and rheological properties of sprouted sorghum flour

This work investigated the effect of sprouting and drying post-sprouting on technological functionalities of sorghum flour as probed by Low-resolution Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H NMR) and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). Multivariate statistics were used to assess the effect of flour (from sprouted and unsprouted sorghum, and wholewheat) and hydration level on flour-water systems molecular and viscoelastic properties. Overall, sorghum-based systems showed greater molecular mobility explaining poorer viscoelastic properties than those obtained from wheat. Sprouting affected the molecular properties of sorghum flour-water systems, while no differences were observed in the two sprouted samples dried in different conditions. However, sprouting did not affect the viscoelastic properties of sorghum-water systems. These results bolster the use of sprouted sorghum in composite flours for the development of sustainable finished products with high nutritional value and satisfactory technological and organoleptic properties.