Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of crude sorghum extract

Here, we report the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor Moench) extracts prepared from 25 cultivars from South Korea. Four cultivars of sorghum were extracted with methanol, then further fractioned with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water. The RC50 (the concentration of antioxidant required to achieve absorbance equal to 50% that of a control containing no antioxidants) value of the DPPH method and reducing power showed higher efficiency in the BuOH layer of all selected cultivars except Neulsusu. The various fractions were then examined for antimicrobial activity by a serial two fold dilution assays using the paper disc method. The methanol extracts showed higher levels of antimicrobial activity than the other fractions. Our results indicate that sorghum extracts could be used as a source of antioxidant and antimicrobial ingredients in the food industry. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.