SORGHUM IS CONFIRMED ANTIOXIDANT, IMMUNE BOOSTING POWER

SORGHUM bicolour, a native grass cultivated
for food and its high medicinal properties,
was recently lauded for its antioxidant and
immune boosting potency at the World
Congress on Military Medicine (WCMM) in
Abuja.
Several studies conducted at the military
and police hospitals across the country, and
cited by experts at the occasion, have
found sorghum potent in treating Human
Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired immune
deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS)-related
cases.
Col. Gian Ayuba of the 44 Army Reference
Hospital, Kaduna noted that Sorghum
bicolour is nature’s most powerful
antioxidant, with capacity present in a
single specific specie of which the active
part is the leaf sheath.
“For the past two decades, modern science
has created synthetic equivalents of the
active compounds in Sorghum bicolour.
However, studies have shown that these
synthetic equivalents do not possess the
same impressive biological effects when
compared to the natural extracts.
“For a long time, indigenous people of West
Africa have used this and other botanical
plants as medicine for treating and curing
diseases, but it is the discovery of its special
and expansive powers by the founder of
Health Forever Products Limited and maker
of Jobelyn that consummated the
potentials,” he said.
On the science behind the traditional
remedy, Ayuba explained that many plants
manufactured secondary metabolites,
which include flavonoids, to protect
themselves against pathogen attack.
“In sorghum, this defence is an active
response resulting in the accumulation of
high levels of 3-deoxyanthocyanidin
phytoalexins (flavonoids) in the plant.
“This 3-deoxyanthocyanidin (3-DXA)
possesses unique chemical and biochemical
properties that Jobelyn uses to strengthen
the body and promote whole health.”
He supported his presentation with various
tests that had been conducted on Jobelyn,
among which is an investigation conducted
at the University of Benin.
In the study, the Packed Cell Volume (PCV)
and Haemoglobin (HB) levels of health
rabbits and rabbits infected with
Trypanosoma brucei-induced anaemia were
elevated following Jobelyn administration.
In another study conducted at Lindabel
Medical Centre, Lawanson, Lagos, 163
randomly selected anaemic patients were
given Jobelyn. “The result is that 98 per cent
showed increase in haemoglobin level
within a week. Besides, sickle cell disease
patients were found to have fewer crises
when placed on Jobelyn.”
On anti-inflammatory activity, Ayuba noted:
“A renowned laboratory in Germany has
investigated and reported the ability of
Jobelyn to suppress the following very
dangerous cytokines – IL – 1, 1L – 6, TNF-
alpha and PGE2. In LPS=stimulated human
PBMC Model (Indirect COX Activity Assay),
Jobelyn was demonstrated to decrease PGE2
production from LPS-stimulated cells
suggesting COX-2 activity inhibition.”
In a report to evaluate the efficiency of
Jobelyn in enhancing immunity in Human
Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)-infected
patients, titled: ‘Effect of Jobelyn, a Nigerian
herbal extract, on the cellular immunity of
persons living with HIV/Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)’, Ayuba
explained that 36 males and 28 females
HIV/AIDS patients who regularly attended
clinic at the Military Hospital, Lagos, between
May and September 2003 were recruited
for the research.