Ethnobotany of Andean minor tuber crops: tradition and innovation—Oca (Oxalis tuberosa Molina—Oxalidaceae), Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum Ruíz & Pav.—Tropaeoleaceae) and Ulluco (Ullucus tuberosus Caldas—Basellaceae)

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

  • Gaia Luziatelli
  • Gabriela Alandia
  • Juan Pablo Rodríguez
  • Ivan Manrique
  • Sven Erik Jacobsen
  • Sørensen, Marten

Andean minor tuber crops are plants domesticated and cultivated since ancient times for their edible underground parts in the Andean region. This review describes the botanical and agronomic features of Oxalis tuberosa, Tropaeolum tuberosum, and Ullucus tuberosus and reports their traditional and new uses, including the latest evidence available on their beneficial properties, complemented with observations from Peru and Bolivia. Oca has good potential to be promoted on the market for its fresh or transformed consumption, while a new promising industrial application of ulluco is the extraction of its betalains to be used as natural food colorants. Finally, mashua, for its high contents of antioxidants and anticarcinogenic properties, is highly relevant to the nutraceutical sector. The use of the three crops in gourmet restaurants of the Andean region has increased notably during the last decade, which suggests that their demand might increase in the future as they become more popular.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationVarieties and Landraces : Cultural Practices and Traditional Uses: Volume 2: Underground Starchy Crops of South American Origin: Production, Processing, Utilization and Economic Perspectives
Number of pages22
Volume2
PublisherElsevier
Publication date2023
Pages79-100
Chapter6
ISBN (Print)9780323910651
ISBN (Electronic)9780323900577
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

    Research areas

  • Andean crops, food security, functional food, Oxalis tuberosa, Tropaeolum tuberosum, Ullucus tuberosus, underutilized crops

ID: 391119482