Glycaemic index and glycaemic load of sorghum products

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture Vol. 95; no. 8; pp. 1626 - 1630
• Main Authors: Prasad, Madhrapakkam Pagadala Rajendra, Rao, Benhur Dayakar, Kalpana, Kommi, Rao, Mendu Vishuvardhana, Patil, Jagannath Vishnu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-06-2015; John Wiley and Sons, Limited
• Subjects: Adult; blood glucose; Blood Glucose - analysis; Chemical industries; Consumption; Cross-Over Studies; Diabetes; Dietary Carbohydrates; Dietary Fiber; Disease prevention; Flakes; Food; Food science; Foods; glycaemic index; glycaemic load; Glycemic Index; Glycemic Load; Humans; India; Oryza; Pasta; Postprandial Period; serving size; Sorghum; Staples; Triticum; Wheat; India; glycaemic load; blood glucose; serving size; sorghum; glycaemic index
• ISSN: 0022-5142; 1097-0010
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.6861

BACKGROUND
Sorghum, a small‐seeded grass, is an important food crop and chief energy source for the people of semi‐arid regions of the world. In India, sorghum production/consumption decreased after the ‘green revolution’, but it is now regaining momentum owing to numerous health and nutritional benefits. An understanding of the glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) of staples can help in choosing suitable foods for the prevention and control of diabetes. In view of this, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the GI and GL of different sorghum foods and compare them with those of wheat/rice based foods.
RESULTS
The GI of sorghum‐based foods such as coarse semolina upma (P < 0.05), fine semolina upma (P < 0.01), flakes poha (P < 0.01) and pasta (P < 0.01) was significantly lower than that of their respective control (wheat/rice‐based) foods. All sorghum‐based foods showed significantly lower GL (P < 0.01) than their respective control (wheat/rice‐based) foods.
CONCLUSION
A few sorghum‐based products have low GI (<55; coarse semolina upma, fine semolina upma, flakes poha and pasta) and all sorghum‐based products (with the exception of sorghum roti) tested in the present study have lower GL than their respective wheat/rice‐based foods. Consumption of low‐GI and low‐GL sorghum‐based foods may help in decreasing postprandial blood glucose levels. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry