Effect of germination and drying on enzyme activity in sorghum and cowpeas

Malts prepared from sorghum and cowpeas that was germinated at 25°C for 0, 1, 2 or 3 days and dried at 60°C for either 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 hours, were evaluated for α-amylase, β-amylase and endo-(1,3)(1,4)-β-D-glucanase activity. Germination had a highly significant effect on enzyme activity (P < 0.01). However, cowpea endo-(1,3)(1,4)-β-D-glucanase was not significantly affected by the combined action of germination and drying. β-Amylase was not detected in any of the samples of this experiment. Further analysis using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test, indicated that there was no significant difference in α-amylase activity in samples dried between 5 to 10 hours. Compared to α-amylase, sorghum and cowpea samples had low endo-(1,3)(1,4)-β-D-glucanase activity.