(P26-074-25) Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Sorghum Varieties: A Food-Based Approach to Address Metabolic Diseases

Objectives: Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) stands as a cornerstone in global sustainable agriculture. It is a gluten-free and non-GMO crop and an important source of nutrients and bioactive compounds with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. However, systematic studies comparing metabolite differences across sorghum varieties to their corresponding health effects are lacking. Given the global epidemic of obesity, characterized by chronic low-grade inflammation, our goal was to determine metabolites in extracts from sorghum varieties and their anti-inflammatory effects in adipocytes.

Methods: We used six diverse genotypes of varying grain colors from Sorghum Association Panel (SAP). Phytochemical profiling was performed using UPLC-MS. MTT assay, and ELISA/qRT-PCR were used to assess cell viability and inflammatory markers (Il6, Mcp1), respectively in 3T3-L1 adipocytes treated with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS to induce inflammation) and/or LPS with or without polar or non-polar extracts. Further, machine learning models (SVM and XGBoost) were used to classify metabolites based on ELISA results. Data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism (10.2.1.) and presented as mean ± SEM (Compared to LPS, One-way ANOVA, p< 0.05).

Results: Metabolite profiling across diverse sorghum grains revealed a rich spectrum of chemical compositions (vitamins, flavonoids, polyphenols). Random Forest (RF) machine learning analysis identified distinct metabolite categories, with a notable prevalence of non-polar compounds (fatty acyls, steroids, terpenoids, and flavonoids) in P162, P130, and P146 lines. Correlation analyses revealed key relationships between metabolite categories and IL6 levels. Neither polar nor non-polar extracts were toxic to adipocytes, and several extracts significantly reduced LPS-induced IL-6 secretion in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by polar (P130, P248) and all non-polar (P130, P146, P162, P170, P248, P273) extracts tested (p≤0.01). Similar results were obtained for Il-6 gene expression; however, no changes in Mcp1 mRNA levels were observed.

Conclusions: Sorghum contains a diverse array of bioactive compounds with anti-inflammatory effects on 3T3-L1 adipocytes, which merits further investigations in animal models and humans.

Funding Sources: United Sorghum Checkoff Program (MD014-21)