The name denotes the Iron content in it. According to a research by team at Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions – SRISTI, Irumbu was pronounced as Irungu and is known for long shelf life.
Sigappu Cholam or Red Sorghum Cholam or Jowar or Great Millet or Sorghum can be traced to our ancestors, more than 1000s of years. First documented evidence points to Africa where early humans had consumed cholam. Millets are power house of nutrients far more than rice or wheat. Further research by nuscommunity.org points towards Calcium content which is twice that is found in rice. Sorghum can be harvested to extract syrup similar to sugarcane or palm. Yellow endosperm with carotene and xanthophyll increases the nutritive value. Sorghum grain that has a testa contains tannin in varying proportions depending on the variety- as taken from FAO.org- Sorghum and millets in human nutrition.