Nutrition - Sorghum Checkoff (2024)

FAQs

Does sorghum have any nutritional value? ›

Sorghum is a nutrient-packed grain that you can use in many ways. It's rich in vitamins and minerals like B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. It's also an excellent source of fiber, antioxidants, and protein. What's more, it's easy to replace rice or quinoa with whole sorghum in most recipes.

Allergies associated with grasses and grass pollen are extremely common. Unfortunately, sorghum is a grass and is known to produce an allergic reaction in some people. Food allergy symptoms include tingling or itching of the mouth, swelling in and around the mouth, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and fainting.

Nutritious. Whole grain sorghum is an excellent source of 12 essential nutrients. A serving of cooked whole grain sorghum provides more than double the amount of protein as a serving of quinoa. One half-cup serving of cooked whole grain sorghum has nearly double the iron as a 3-ounce sirloin steak.

You Bet! There's no stopping this powerhouse grain. The USDA recognizes sorghum as an incredible nutrient source, as a single serving contains significant amounts of protein, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, fiber, and antioxidants.

Nutritional composition

Sorghum flour had the highest protein content (12.62%) while oat flour had the lowest (8.33%). In this study, oat flour had the highest fat content but this level is not so high comparing to the literature data (Hager et al.

Sorghum molasses contains higher amounts of some nutrients than molasses, such as phosphorus and zinc, and it is lower in sodium.

In addition to the high content of anti-inflammatory phenolic compounds, sorghum contains several groups of bioactive compounds with the capacity to induce pro-inflammatory immune responses.

Sorghum grain is higher in protein and lower in fat content than corn, but does not contain carotene as corn does. In the U.S. there are three main types of sorghum—grain, forage and sweet. Grain sorghum grows to about 5 feet and is used for livestock feed, biofuels, pet food and human consumption.

Notably, pearl millet is generally richer in protein and fat compared to sorghum and the other millets.

Analyzing fermentation profiles across diverse human microbiomes, they discovered that grain from parental lines of sorghum stimulate growth of many species of gut microbes that are known to be beneficial to our health whereas grain from waxy derivatives lacks this capacity.

Is sorghum high in lectins? ›

Additionally, sorghum is one of the few grains without lectins. Most grains contain lectins, so the plants can defend themselves in nature. The problem with lectins is that they resist being broken down in the gut, thereby causing problems with digestion for some people.

Sorghum bicolor is a grain that serves as food for both animals and humans. Sorghum is rich in phytochemicals that have been reported to have glucose-lowering (7) and cholesterol-lowering properties (8).

A symbiotic meal consisting of a breakfast cereal made of sorghum BRS 305 associated with a probiotic containing Bifidobacterium longum improves gut health, reduces body weight and reduces uremic toxin serum levels in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD), suggests a study in Brazil.

Do I Need to Refrigerate Sorghum? No, sorghum is a natural sweetener and can be treated just like honey. Although refrigeration will not hurt your sorghum, it will make the consistency thicker and harder to spread. Storing at room temperature will keep your product ready to use at all times.

Dry heated sorghum (BRS 305) is a source of phenolics, tannins, and resistant starch. BRS 305 sorghum flour reduces liver steatosis and lipogenesis caused by HFHF diet.

Now, sorghum gets its grainy little butt kicked when it comes to fruits and vegetables, but in terms of compared to other grains, a sorghum-based breakfast cereal, for example, might have like eight times the antioxidants than a whole wheat-based cereal.

As a food, sorghum has better nutrition than rice and cassava (Table 1), and it ranks after wheat, rice, corn and barley.