Understanding sorghum grain quality is essential for breeding, food innovation, and industrial applications. Traits such as protein, starch composition, oil content, tannins, and phenolic compounds directly influence nutritional value, processing behavior, and end use. However, traditional laboratory assays are slow,
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) has long played a central role in the production of fermented beverages across continents, from West African dolo and pito to Chinese baijiu and emerging gluten-free craft beers in the West. A wave of recent research is shedding light on how sorghum’s grain properties, microbial interactions during fermentation, and genetic diversity influence the quality and sustainability of these beverages.
In recent years, sorghum has gained increasing attention not just as a climate-resilient staple crop, but also as a source of high-value bioactive compounds with applications beyond the food and feed sectors. A growing body of research highlights the potential of sorghum storage proteins—particularly kafirins—as a sustainable source of antioxidant peptides and cosmeceutical ingredients.
As interest grows in sustainable, plant-based alternatives to synthetic materials, sorghum’s seed storage protein, kafirin, is gaining recognition not just for its agronomic relevance but also for its remarkable biomaterial properties. Once considered a low-value byproduct of sorghum processing, kafirin is now being explored as a key ingredient in high-performance bioplastics, nanomaterials, and drug delivery systems.
Sorghum, a climate-resilient crop traditionally used as a staple in Africa and Asia, is gaining attention as a promising ingredient in baked goods across the globe. Despite its widespread cultivation, particularly in drought-prone regions, sorghum remains underutilized in Western food systems—most of it relegated to animal feed. However, a growing body of research is changing that narrative.
