The effects of sorghum and wheat bran on the colonic functions of healthy Sudanese subjects

Abstract

The effects of sorghum and wheat bran were compared and contrasted in a group of healthy Sudanese subjects. Ten medical students were studied while taking their normal diet, a diet of 20 g/day of sorghum bran and a diet of 20 g/day of wheat bran, each for 3 wk. Toward the end of each dietary period the wet stool weight, gut transit time, and frequency of bowel evacuation were estimated. The mean stool weight on normal diet was 136.6 ± 43.1 g/day, on sorghum bran 173.3 ± 48.4 g/day, and on wheat bran 219.1 ± 98.3 g/day. The increase produced by wheat bran was significant, p < 0.001. Both brans produced a similar number of bowel evacuations. The results suggest that sorghum bran, which is both cheap and readily available in the Sudan, produces a similar number of bowel evacuations to those of wheat bran without significantly affecting stool weight or transit time.