Effect of different salt concentrations on the gamma-aminobutyric-acid content and glutamate decarboxylase activity in germinated sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) grain

Maha F Elbaloula; Amro B Hassan

doi:10.1002/fsn3.2821

Effect of different salt concentrations on the gamma-aminobutyric-acid content and glutamate decarboxylase activity in germinated sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) grain

Food Sci Nutr. 2022 Mar 10;10(6):2050-2056. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.2821. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Authors

Maha F Elbaloula¹, Amro B Hassan^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Science and Technology College of Agricultural Studies Sudan University of Science and Technology Khartoum Sudan.
² Department of Food Science and Nutrition Faculty of Food and Agricultural Sciences King Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia.
³ Environment and Natural Resource Desertification Research Institute (ENDRI) National Center for Research Khartoum Sudan.

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content and glutamate decarboxylase activity (GAD) in germinated sorghum grain as affected by different concentrations of NaCl, pyridoxal 5-phosphate (PLP), and CaCl₂. In general, the obtained results revealed that the addition of low doses of NaCl (40 mmol/L), PLP (90 mmol/L), and CaCl₂ (0.5 mmol/L) to the germination culture significantly (p < .05) enhanced the GABA content and subsequently improved the GAD activity in sorghum grains. Moreover, CaCl₂ played a dominant role in the extent of enzymolysis, followed by NaCl and PLP. Regarding the GABA content, the optimal concentration of the NaCl, PLP, and CaCl₂ was estimated as 41.07 mmol/L, 82.62 μmol/L, and 0.40 mmol/L, respectively. Under this optimal culture medium, the maximum GABA content was 0.336 mg/g. In conclusion, the findings of this work would provide a scientific basis for the industrialized production of GABA-enriched sorghum foods.

Keywords: GAD activity; gamma‐aminobutyric‐acid; germination; salt concentration; sorghum.