''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (

Poaceae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

). Some of these species are grown as

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

s for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

, while many others are used as

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...

plants, either cultivated in warm climates worldwide or naturalisation (biology), naturalized in pasture, pasture lands.

Taxonomy

''Sorghum'' is in the

(grass) subfamily Panicoideae and the tribe Andropogoneae (the same as maize, Andropogon gerardi, big bluestem 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, Asia, Mesoamerica, and certain islands in the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Islands, Pacific Oceans.

Toxicity

In the early stages of the plants' growth, some species of sorghum can contain levels of hydrogen cyanide, hordenine, 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 Sweet sorghum, sorghum syrup), animal

, 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 Before Present, BP. All sorghums contain phenolic acids, 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

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