ARS | Publication request: PRODUCTION OF LACTIC ACID FROM GRAIN SORGHUM

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 19, 2004
Publication Date: September 19, 2004
Citation: Bean, S., Wang, D.H., Zhan, X., Schober, T.J. 2004. Production of lactic acid from grain sorghum. Abstract No. 136 in: 2004 AACC Annual Meeting Program Book. p.91. Meeting Abstract.

Technical Abstract: Sorghum is a starch rich, drought-resistant, low input grain that is often grown in areas where there is not enough water to grow other cereal crops. As such, sorghum represents an important renewable resource for bio-industrial products. However, grain sorghum is currently underused for such applications. The objective of our research is to improve lactic acid production from sorghum by determining the biochemical factors governing lactic acid yields from sorghum, investigating the genotype x environment interaction in governing lactic acid yields, as well as investigating pretreatment techniques such as extrusion technology to increase lactic acid yields. Lactic acid production from normal and supercritical extrusion-cooked grain sorghum was found to be 16-26% higher than that from conventionally cooked grain sorghum. Lactic acid yield of 16 different sorghum hybrids was found to vary by 15% and the growth location was found to affect lactic acid yields by 10%. These results demonstrated that cultivars can be selected specifically for increased lactic acid yields. Our results also showed that lactic acid yields could be increased through pre-processing steps. The value of sorghum for bio-industrial applications can be increased by finding sorghum hybrids that have potential for high lactic acid yields and by pre-processing steps.