''Sorghum'' () is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of about 25 species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the grass family ( Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many others are used as fodder plants, either cultivated in warm climates worldwide or naturalized in pasture lands.

Taxonomy

''Sorghum'' is in the Poaceae (grass) subfamily

Panicoideae Panicoideae is the second-largest subfamily of the grasses with over 3,500 species, mainly distributed in warm temperate and tropical regions. It comprises some important agricultural crops, including sugarcane, maize (or corn), sorghum, and swi ...

and the tribe

Andropogoneae The Andropogoneae, sometimes called the sorghum tribe, are a large tribe of grasses (family Poaceae) with roughly 1,200 species in 90 genera, mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical areas. They include such important crops as maize (corn), ...

(the same as

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

big bluestem ''Andropogon gerardi'', commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and grassland regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot. Taxon ...

and sugarcane).

Species

Accepted species recorded include: Sorghum at the market

Distribution and habitat

Seventeen of the 25 species are native to Australia, with the range of some extending to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...

, and certain islands in the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and Pacific Oceans.

Toxicity

In the early stages of the plants' growth, some species of sorghum can contain levels of hydrogen cyanide,

hordenine Hordenine is an alkaloid of the phenethylamine class that occurs naturally in a variety of plants, taking its name from one of the most common, barley (''Hordeum'' species). Chemically, hordenine is the ''N''-methyl derivative of ''N''-methyltyra ...

, and nitrates, which are lethal to grazing animals. Plants stressed by drought or heat can also contain toxic levels of cyanide and nitrates at later stages in growth.

Uses

The grains are edible and nutritious. It can be eaten raw when young and milky, but has to be boiled when older. One species, '' Sorghum bicolor'', native to Africa with many cultivated forms, is an important crop worldwide, used for food (in the form of grain or sorghum syrup), animal fodder, the production of alcoholic beverages, and biofuels. Sorghum's cultivation has been linked by archeological research back to ancient Sudan around 6,000 to 7,000 BP. All sorghums contain

phenolic acid Phenolic acids or phenolcarboxylic acids are types of aromatic acid compounds. Included in that class are substances containing a phenolic ring and an organic carboxylic acid function (C6-C1 skeleton). Two important naturally occurring types of ph ...

s, and most contain flavonoids. Sorghum grains are one of the highest food sources of the flavonoid proanthocyanidin. Total phenol content (in both phenolic acids and flavonoids) is correlated with antioxidant activity. Antioxidant activity is high in sorghums having dark Fruit anatomy, pericarp and pigmented Seed#Seed coat, testa. The antioxidant activity of sorghum may explain the reduced incidence of certain cancers in populations consuming sorghum. Popped sorghum is popular as a snack in India. The popped sorghum is similar to popcorn, but the puffs are smaller. Like popcorn, popping sorghum is done by microwave, in a pot, or other similar ways. It may also be used as a flavoring for clarified butter (ghee). In China, sorghum flour is used in combination with wheat flour to make noodles and breads. Most varieties are xerophyte, drought- and heat-tolerant, nitrogen cycle, nitrogen-efficient, and are especially important in arid and semi-arid regions, where the grain is one of the staple food, staples for poor and rural people. These varieties form important components of forage in many tropical regions. ''S. bicolor'' is an important food crop in Africa, Central America, and South Asia, and is the fifth most important cereal crop grown in the world.

Role in global economy

Global demand for sorghum increased dramatically between 2013 and 2015, when China began purchasing US sorghum crops to use as livestock feed as a substitute for domestically grown maize, corn. China purchased around $1 billion worth of American sorghum per year until April 2018, when China imposed retaliatory Tariff, duties on American sorghum as part of the China–United States trade war (2018–present), trade war between the two countries.

References

External links

*
FAO Report (1995) "Sorghum and millets in human nutrition"

Sorghum on US Grains Council Web Site
{{Authority control Sorghum, Cereals Forages Tropical agriculture Poaceae genera