Abstract
The aim of present investigation was to determine chemical composition and antioxidant activity of sorghum and millet. Antioxidant activity was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and beta-carotene assay and total phenolic content (TPC). Individual phenolic acids were identified using high-performance liquid chromatography. TPC ranged 0.166-0.362 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g in sorghum and 0.275-0.305 mg GAE/g in millet. The major phenolic acid identified in sorghum was chlorogenic acid (11.90-39.10 mu g/g) while in millet was m-coumaric acid (21.50 mu g/g). DPPH was found to be 88.4-94.2% in sorghum and 47.1-48.2% in millet. beta-carotene revealed wide range in sorghum (16.8-43.0%) and millet (20.6-28.8%). Sorghum had higher antioxidant activities and phenolic acids than millet. Cookies were prepared from wheat-sorghum and wheat-millet composite flour at ratios of 90: 10, 80: 20, 70: 30, 60: 40 and 50: 50. Cookies were evaluated for organoleptic properties and found highly acceptable at 10 and 20% level.