LUPIN and sorghum could be the answer to controlling and preventing diseases as a result of research underway in WA.
The fibre and protein properties in both grains are the key to creating foods with low glycemic ratings and anti-diabetic benefits, if scientists find a way to harness the properties.
Curtin University Faculty of Health Sciences associate professor Stuart Johnson has had some success in this area recently, working with Sanitarium to develop gluten free Weet Bix featuring sorghum as a part of his on-going work.
Associate Professor Johnson presented an update on his work as a part of AusBiotech's WA Bio Briefing.
The panel of speakers covered topics including medical cannabis and potential research and uses in Australia, development of apple varieties with flavonoids catering to human health benefits and biotechnology and intellectual property rights.
"Lupins are a very Australia-centric protein and it's important for sustainable farming, but the farmers are finding very little success in a sustainable path to market," Associate Professor Johnson said.
"It has a very unusual nutritional composition for a legume in that it's a non-starchy legume like soy but it doesn't have the high levels of oils.
"So it's primarily a dietary fibre protein split."
Associate Professor Johnson's research is looking at the whole lupin seed and utilising every part, considering livestock feed, human consumption and biotechnology applications such as food-grade coatings.
"In terms of lupins we have the pods, the seeds and commercially the whole fibre is an animal feed," he said.
"At the moment we have one PhD project looking at methods to make it a functional fibre.
"We're also running a study with type 2 diabetics looking at regular consumption of lupin flour products and whole wheat on blood pressure and control."
His work screening lupin varieties and performing mathematical modelling of digestion, application in baking and other food options is helping to develop an understanding of how the seed can be used.
"We're moving to try to assist industry if they have needs," he said.
Associate Professor Johnson said lupin and sorghum also had potential in paediatric services to create food with high nutritional quality from a sustainable source.
But he said the problem is improving the functionality of the grains would only go so far in creating a market.
He said there needed to be a suitable path to market to ensure growers received a reasonable price and consumers paid an affordable price.
In another project involving Curtin University and the WA government, Associate Professor Johnson said he had gained insight into the need to connect to potential overseas users.
"The growers obviously need some sort of co-operative approach or some sort of business here where they can then make business connections with key potential users overseas," he said.
"There is great market potential particularly in markets such as Saudi Arabia, India and Indonesia where they really are interested in legumes, particularly for the fibre and protein side."
