Effect of fermentation and dehulling on starch, total polyphenols, phytic acid content and in vitro protein digestibility of pearl millet

Two pearl millet cultivars: Standard and Ugandi, obtained from El Obeid Research Station, were used in this study. Investigation showed that the Ugandi variety had significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) higher polyphenols and phytic acid contents than the standard and significantly lower in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD), (72.7 and 70.4% for the Standard and Ugandi, respectively), indicating lower nutritional quality. The two cultivars were fermented for 14 h at room temperature (30 +/- 2degreesC) and starch, polyphenols, phytic acid and IVPD were determined at 2-h intervals. Dehulling was found to cause a significant reduction in protein, polyphenols and phytic acid contents for the two cultivars. Fermentation and dehulling caused a significant increase in the IVPD for the two cultivars: 82 and 84% for the fermented ones and 79.1 and 78.6% for the dehulled samples. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.