Macronutrient and mineral composition of sweet sorghum syrups compared to other commercial syrup sweeteners

Authors: Eggleston, Gillian; Triplett, Alexa; Bett Garber, Karen; Bechtel, Peter; Boue, Stephen

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/27/2022
Publication Date: 3/1/2022
Citation: Eggleston, G., Triplett, A., Bett Garber, K., Boue, S., Bechtel, P. 2022. Macronutrient and mineral content in sweet sorghum syrups compared to other commercial syrup sweeteners. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research. 7. Article 100276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2022.100276.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2022.100276

Interpretive Summary: Knowledge of the nutritional and dietary content of sweet sorghum syrups as compared to other common food-grade syrups, will facilitate its large-scale marketing as a nutritional sweetener. Typical food and beverage attributes as well as key minerals were measured in commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), corn, honey, maple, agave, rice, and grain sorghum syrups (three brands each) and compared to ten commercial sweet sorghum syrups. Agave syrup was the highest source of fat. The protein content of sweet sorghum syrups ranged from 0.9 to 4.0%, and the mean value (1.80%) was nearly two-fold higher than for the other syrups (0.96%). Overall, sweet sorghum syrups were rich dietary sources of magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron, plant protein, and contained negligible sodium.

Technical Abstract: Changes in American consumer tastes and preferences for healthful, clean label, and minimally-processed sweeteners have set the stage for the introduction of sweet sorghum syrup as a commercial liquid sweetener, produced in volume by modern agricultural and processing practices. As sweet sorghum syrup is non-GMO, gluten-free, and can be produced free of additives and preservatives, it falls right into this emerging consumer-driven market. Knowledge of the nutritional and dietary content of sweet sorghum syrups as compared to other common food-grade syrups, will facilitate its large-scale marketing as a nutritional sweetener. Proximate food and beverage attributes as well as key minerals were measured in commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), corn, honey, maple, agave, rice, and grain sorghum syrups (three brands each) and compared to ten commercial sweet sorghum syrups. Agave syrup was the highest (P<0.05) source of fat (mean 2.1%) although fat varied (P<0.05) with the agave brand. The protein content of sweet sorghum syrups ranged from 0.9 to 4.0%, and the mean value (1.80%) was nearly two-fold higher than for the other syrups (0.96%). Sweet sorghum syrups contained dramatically (P<0.05) higher mean amounts of magnesium (120 mg) than the other syrups (5 mg). The potassium contents of all the sweet sorghum syrups were also very high (up to 1710 mg) and dramatically higher (P<0.05) than for all the other syrups. Iron was negligible in servings of the syrups except for sweet sorghum which contained over half (52.7%) of the daily value. Overall, sweet sorghum syrups were rich dietary sources of magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron, plant protein, and contained negligible sodium.