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⩽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±2° C) 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.