Posted on 09/13/2010 7:14:20 AM PDT by decimon
Athens, Ga. - A new University of Georgia study has found that select varieties of sorghum bran have greater antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties than well-known foods such as blueberries and pomegranates.
Researchers measured polyphenolic compounds, which naturally occur in plants to help fight against pests and disease, and found that the black and sumac varieties of sorghum have significant levels of antioxidants. Many fruits also contain these compounds, they said, though sorghum bran may prove to be the richest and cheapest source.
“Since most human chronic disease states are associated with chronic inflammation and high oxidative stress, a food ingredient such as sorghum bran could potentially make certain processed foods better for a healthy diet,” said study co-author Diane Hartle, director of the UGA Nutraceutical Research Laboratory and an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy.
Hartle and her colleagues, whose results appear in the current issue of the Journal of Medicinal Food, measured the degree to which extracts from four different varieties of sorghum reduced inflammation in mice. They found that black and sumac varieties showed significantly higher levels of polyphenolic content and antioxidant levels than the two low-tannin varieties tested, which did not reduce inflammation.
The authors found that levels of polyphenolic compounds in the high-tannin sorghum varieties ranged from 23 to 62 mg of polyphenols per gram. For comparison, blueberries contain approximately 5 mg of polyphenolics per gram, while pomegranate juice contains 2 to 3.5 mg per gram.
The U.S. is the largest producer of sorghum in the world. Most of the sorghum grown, however, is a low-tannin variety that is fed to cattle and poultry or used to manufacture ethanol to fuel cars. “High-tannin sorghums can be of greater economy to manufacturers because of the current cost of berry and fruit sources of similar plant-based chemicals,” said study co-author Phillip Greenspan, associate professor in the UGA College of Pharmacy.
High-tannin sorghum bran products have not been available in supermarket foods until recently. The researchers said they hope to generate interest in sorghum bran or its extract as an additive to food and beverages. Sorghum bran extract could be added to a variety of foods and beverages as a liquid concentrate or dried powder. The Great Plains area of the U.S. is the largest worldwide producer of sorghum, and the researchers said that the combination of its low price and high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties will make it widely useful as an inexpensive and nutritional food additive.
The researchers have already experimented with adding the extract to apple juice to make it an affordable alternative to pomegranate juice and other antioxidant-rich products. “We’re hoping that some company decides to extract this bran and pull these chemicals out and put the extract into a beverage that can help you fight disease rather than promote disease,” Hartle said.
Study co-author James Hargrove, associate professor in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences, added that high-tannin sorghum has more antioxidant phytochemicals than other brans such as rice, wheat and oats, whose phenolic content and antioxidant values are low. He and Hartle said that the use of sorghum can become a way to reintroduce a quality food to many products that now use bleached, refined flour.
“Sorghum bran not only provides the fiber but gives you a real medicinal punch at the same time because it delivers a lot of other chemicals that a berry would give you,” Hartle said.
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Note to editors: For a copy of the study, contact Diane Hartle at dhartle@rx.uga.edu.
Isn’t sorghum just one of those “exports” we used to read about in geography? You know: “The chief exports of Loserstan are jute, sorghum, and tin.”
Isn’t sorghum just one of those “exports” we used to read about in geography? You know: “The chief exports of Loserstan are jute, sorghum, and tin.”
Interesting. Thanks. But note that the article addresses anti-inflammatory properties as well.
The article says the U.S. is the largest producer but mostly not of black or sumac sorghum.
Yeah, I remember seeing stands selling the syrup up in the N. GA mountains every time I visited. I really should have given it a try after all those years (15 in GA, UGA’s my alma mater). I will admit to a little native NH snobbery in my hesitance to do so - maple syrup snobbery! ;)
I’ve been sort of toying with a paleo/primal diet lately, since I have degenerative disc disease in my lower back and have to deal with a lot of inflammation, too. It’s just really hard to do with two very young children, so I’ve put it on hold. I wonder what this does to that whole low-carb/no-carb diet philosophy. Do the antioxidants outweigh the negatives of any grain anti-nutrients? Does sorghum contain whey? Can it make a decent wheatless bread? Very interesting indeed!
BTW I’ve been taking a lot of Omega 3’s lately because I had LASEK eye surgery and it helps with the healing, and I’ve noticed a difference in my level of back pain. Two big horsepills a day, one flax seed oil and one fish oil, plus some vitamin C. :)
My daughter puts flax seed in all kinds of stuff. She swears by it. She also takes fish oil. It’s amazing that you’ve already seen a difference.
I read the Dr. Weil’s book on the anti-inflammatory diet. It made sense and I like most of the recommended foods. I’m trying to eat a salad every day with extra virgin olive oil and rice wine viniger, stir fries with brown rice, carrot and other veggie juices, etc. My went along with it for a week then begged for a hamburger.
opps. I meant to say my HUSBAND went along for a while. He’s committed to the Dr. Pepper and Red Vine diet.
I've read most of the Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. It's based on the evolutionary perspective that humans developed in an environment with lots of meat, healthy fats, and vegetables but not grains. Although we may be able to digest grains and sugars, we are not truly designed for them and that is the source of all our autoimmune/inflammatory disorders such as diabetes and arthritis. When we developed agriculture we became soft and sickly, and now live sedentary yet workaholic lifestyles that are incompatible with the activity and rest levels we naturally should maintain. It seems very logical to me (I suppose one could even take the Creationist perspective that we were made for a before-the-fall lifestyle, Adam and Eve initially didn't need to work the earth and bake bread), but with toddlers it's really hard to go without bread. I can't talk them into salads for lunch at this point, and I don't want to spend my entire day cooking either. Must have sandwiches!!! Oh yeah, not to mention ice cream. Anyway, your husband might be interested in the Primal Blueprint because it does emphasize meat meat MEAT! I also have the cookbook and it's awesome (I will repeat that I don't really like cooking but the cookbook actually got me interested in expanding our supper repertoire).
The amazing thing is, in our current society, we actually have a choice in what to eat. In many places, people don’t have any choice and must eat what ever is available.
Yes, that’s very true!
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