Sorghum for Health and Business

Abstract

Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal crop cultivated globally on an area of about 40.51 million ha. Grain sorghum is vital food crop for millions especially for the people in the arid and semi-arid parts of Africa and Asia. In developed countries, the crop is majorly used as animal or poultry feed. With continuous increase in the human population and decreasing agricultural resources especially irrigation water, sorghum represents important crop for future as it can produce optimum yield under drought and other stress conditions. The major challenges facing sorghum research and development is to deliver technologies that will enable the agricultural sector to affect transformation of “subsistence farming” to sustainable and market oriented. This can be achieved through reassessment of crop research in terms of current and future demand, resolving specific production constraints by improving productivity, development of post-harvest processing and value-addition technologies, creation of demand, marketing strategies and policies that would result in additional farm income and employment without sacrificing overall goal of attaining sustainable food and nutritional security.

This chapter focuses on the nutritive composition of sorghum grain, consumption pattern in Africa and Asia, grain attributes affecting end-use quality, health benefits of sorghum, major constraints as food and suggestive measures for sustainable production. A value chain model followed at Directorate of Sorghum Research, India for sustainable use of sorghum as food is discussed. Sorghum is comparable with fine cereals like rice and wheat for most of the grain nutritional composition including starch, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals etc. The quality of sorghum grain used for preparation of various food products is an important parameter that determines its end use. In general, bold, round lustrous and intermediate endosperm textured grains are preferred for variety of food preparations. Protein quality in sorghum is also a major aspect discussed by scientists across world. The protein quality is considered to be slightly inferior compared to other fine cereals. Research efforts are in progress for development of lines with improved protein quality. However supplementation of sorghum foods with other pulses would circumvent the problems associated with sorghum protein. Sorghum grain possesses unique grain nutritional properties having significant and positive role in promoting nutrition and health of human beings. Particularly the slow release carbohydrate property of sorghum increases satiety and has role in controlling diabetes. Gluten is absent in sorghum and is considered safe for people suffering for celiac disease. In developed countries there is a growing demand for gluten free food especially sorghum due to the intolerance to wheat. Recently farmers in US have started producing sorghum hybrids that are a white grain, known as “food-grade” sorghum.