Sorghum, like unripe plantain, good for diabetics —Study

UNRIPE plantain and cocoyam flour have always been valued in folkloric medicine because of its ability to lower blood sugar. Now, experts have established the potentials of fermented sorghum or guinea-corn in ensuring good blood sugar control in diabetics.

In a new study, researchers indicated that the consumption of sorghum diet may protect against high blood sugar level and oxidative damage and may, therefore, serve as functional food for management of diabetic mellitus.

This study, looking at the protective and modulatory effects of a sorghum diet, said that daily sorghum diets significantly reduced the high levels of sugar and fats, such as cholesterol, in the blood of diabetic animals.

The researchers said although the consumption of the fermented sorghum diets by the experimental rats for eight weeks did not alter blood glucose levels, findings of the study indicated that consuming fermented sorghum can prevent a drastic increase in the glucose levels, thus stabilising blood sugar level.

Good blood sugar control can help prevent or slow the progression of some of the main medical complications of diabetes. The risk of complications of diabetes directly increases with increased sugar and fat blood levels. They are bad for health.

When blood sugar rises in non-diabetic people, the body produces insulin. It helps the body to move sugar out of the blood and into the cells where it is used or stored.

However, this process does not work as it should in diabetics. Instead, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells are resistant to the insulin that is made.

The 2018 study published in the Frontiers in Nutrition, involved Tolulope Dorcas Olawole; Margaret Imuetiyan Okundigie; Solomon Oladapo Rotimi; Ogi Okwumabua; and Israel Sunmola Afolabi.

In Nigerian languages, sorghum is called oka baba in Yoruba, dawa/jero in Hausa and sorghum in Igbo. Several health-promoting products such as flour, staple food, and beverages have been produced from sorghum grains.

Caffeic acid, a major phytochemical constituent of fermented sorghum, has been implicated in the treatment of diabetes. Sorghum extract exerts an anti-diabetic effect by improving insulin sensitivity in mice fed a high-fat diet.

Traditionally in Nigeria, sorghum is used to treat sickle-cell anaemia, stimulate body immunity and even trivial problems like headaches and cough. Professor Tolu Odugbemi of the University of Lagos, Nigeria, in the book “A Textbook of Medicinal Plants from Nigeria” said sorghum is good as a blood tonic and for treating malaria.

Sorghum possesses iron, copper and magnesium which help to increase the iron absorption in the body. This reduces the chances of anaemia that is led by iron deficiency.

An adequate amount of iron and copper increases the development of red blood cells, enhance the blood circulation, cellular growth, increases the hair growth and boost the level of energy.

The process of fermentation of foods has numerous nutritional and health benefits such as improvement in flavour, appearance, texture, nutritional value and palatability through increased bioavailability of nutrients, increased carbohydrate digestibility, and shelf-life extension.

A fermented cereal is also known as ogi or oka-baba is a staple and indigenous food produced from sorghum, millet, maize, or guinea corn. It is consumed by both the young and old and particularly used as a weaning food for children.

The high cost of drugs to treat diabetes equally demands alternative approaches that include a nutritional approach to prevent the disease, especially in developing countries.

This study, which investigated the protective and modulatory effects of a sorghum diet in diabetic rats, involved rats that were randomly distributed into six groups. The control group received normal diet, while the other groups were pretreated with 12.5, 25, 50, 75, and 100 per cent of the sorghum diets daily for eight weeks.

There blood samples was collected and the liver was excised to check for the effects of the diets on blood glucose levels, liver function, and markers of oxidative stress.

Aside the administration of all the five sorghum diets significantly reducing the blood glucose and cholesterol levels compared with the control, they suggested that fermented sorghum product may be useful in preventing diabetes.

Moreover, experts have also established the potentials of cocoyam and unripe plantain in the lowering of high levels of fats, such as cholesterol, in the blood.

The 2016 study published in the journal, Pharmaceutical Biology found cocoyam and unripe plantain helping to ensure low levels of blood and fat, and as such helpful in the management of diabetes and its complication.