The health benefits of sorghum products, and how their consumption can reduce the risk cardiovascular disease and diabetes, is under the microscope.
Darling Downs local Anna Balzer is completing her PhD at the University of Southern Queensland and has been looking at specific changes sorghum consumption can have on physiology.
Miss Balzer contacted fellow USQ researcher Professor Lindsay Brown, who is known for his research on purple carrots and the Queen Garnet plum, and the pair became interested in whole grains.
They were keen to look at local products that didn’t have a great deal of research backing them, and sorghum was the logical choice.
Whole sorghum, sorghum flour and wet cake sorghum, which is a by-product of ethanol production, are being compared as part of the trial.
A number of positive benefits have been found in the research so far.
“We’ve seen slight improvements in glucose tolerance and we’ve also seen improvement in liver function; it could reduce some of the fat deposits that sit in the liver,” she said.
“It [sorghum consumption] reduces cholesterol and with the dry, distilled grain sorghum we saw a significant increase in muscle mass.”
Sorghum has been part of African diets for centuries but is commonly viewed as feed for animals in Australia. However, it is used in gluten free flours, as a substitute for rice and it can be popped and consumed like popcorn.
For everyday Australians, the research indicates sorghum consumption could reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Miss Balzer had the opportunity to present her research findings as part of the University of Southern Queensland’s Pitch Club Challenge, where she won the PhD student category and the Wiley Better Future Award.
“It was a huge surprise to win,” she said.
“It was very intimidating standing up in front of that many people but it was well worth it.”
Miss Balzer grew up on a farm at Irongate, on the central Darling Downs and went on to study a Bachelor of Science degree with honours in biotechnology and molecular genetics at the University of New England.
It was her passion for health and fitness that motivated her towards this area of research.
She hopes to complete her thesis in the next six months and move into the health food industry to help companies with food marketing.
Research celebrated at Pitch Club Challenge
Now in it’s third year, the Pitch Club Challenge showcases the work of researchers across the university and gives them an opportunity to present their findings in public.
Held in the final week of September, the event is part of the University of Southern Queensland’s focus on and celebration of Research Week.
Early Career Researchers (ECR) were judged separately to the PhD competitors. Dr Greg Jones won the ECR Arts and Humanities category with his pitch about a 1.4 billion error in the NSW 2011 – 22 budget results.
Taking out the ECR Science and Health section was Dr Rajib Rana, who spoke about developing an app to record and notify users of fluctuations in their mood.