Selection of Superior Sorghum Accession by Assessing Agronomic Characters and Biological Activity

수수 수집종의 농업적 형질 및 생리활성 분석을 통한 우수계통 선발

Background: Sorghum is a major cereal food crop used in many parts of the world. It has been grown on a subsistence level by farmers, under various conditions of environmental stresses in the semi-arid tropics of Africa and Asia. This plant has received significant attention because of its ability to reduce cholesterol in the blood, and its anti-dementia, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. It is possible to develop a functional and commercially viable sorghum variety by using superior cultivars of sorghum. The objective of this study was to build a database of superior sorghum accession. Methods and Results: We used 250 sorghum accessions collected from different geographical bioregions in Korea. We determined various agronomic characters including germination rate and ear length of these accessions. To determine the antioxidant capacity, we measured the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)-diammonium salt radical scavenging activity, total phenolic contents, and total flavonoid contents. Accession 189 showed higher germination (> 80%) than the other accessions. Higher 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity was observed in 11-SB-078 ($RC_{50}$; $1.89{\pm}2.88{\mu}g/m{\ell}$), and higher 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)-diammonium salt radical scavenging activity was recorded in 11-SB-116 ($RC_{50}$; $35.48{\pm}2.42{\mu}g/m{\ell}$) than in the other accessions. The ear length ranged from 15 cm to 48 cm, the total phenolic contents ranged from $3mg{\cdot}GAE/g$ to $77mg{\cdot}GAE/g$, and total flavonoid contents ranged from $0.09mg{\cdot}QE/g$ to $1.07mg{\cdot}QE/g$. Conclusions: Among 250 sorghum accessions, we selected 10 with both superior agronomic characters and highly functional food quality.