Presentacin de PowerPoint

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Ahipa, a new legume crop as an alternative
source of starch, sugar, protein and oil.
E.O. Leidi, R. Sarmiento Departamento de Biología
Vegetal, CSIC, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y
Agrobiología de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes 10,
41012 Sevilla, Spain J.L. Forsyth, P.R.
Shewry IACR-Long Ashton Research Station, Long
Ashton, Bristol BS41 9AF, U.K. D.N.
Rodríguez-Navarro, F. Temprano Departamento de
Inoculantes, CIFA Las Torres-Tomejil, Apartado
Oficial, 41200 Alcalá del Río, Spain
Ahipa (Pachyrhizus ahipa Wedd. Parodi), a
legume crop used for food in South America from
the time of the Incas, is a potentially
alternative source of starch, sugar, protein and
oil for Europe.
This tuberous-root legume, which is able to fix
N2 in symbiotic association with rhizobia, and is
resistant to pests due to natural compounds like
rotenone and L-canavanine. Ahipa is an
attractive alternative for sustainable production
of raw materials in low input agriculture.
SEEDS
The seeds contain about 25-47 protein and 21-22
oil. The oil is rich in palmitic acid and
gamma-tocopherol.
Root composition
Seed composition
ROOTS
Tuberous-root section stained with iodine
The tuberous-root contain about 56-58 starch
with amylose contents of about 11.6 to 16.8.
Scanning electron microscopy of starch granules
Additional outstanding features of ahipa are its
low nutritional requirement and pest resistance
which reduce the environmental impact of the
crop, as no nitrogen fertilizers and insecticides
are required for its cultivation. Breeding could
improve the competitiveness even further by
delivering varieties with desirable agronomic
traits.

• In conclusion, ahipa can provide
• From roots
• starch for food applications and other industrial
  processes
• sugars (mainly glucose)
• from seeds
• proteins for animal feeding
• oil
• L-canavanine. rotenone
• and
• N-rich post-harvest residues are valuable for
  silage
• or for improving organic matter content in the
  soil.

The adaptability of the crop has been tested in
Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal), and available
ahipa landraces have shown competitive yield
figures in comparison with traditional sources of
industrial starch (potato, sugarbeet) and protein
(chickpea, lupin, beans) for Mediterranean
agriculture.
At the present time, ahipa is a promising
alternative to other traditional sources of raw
materials in the context of sustainable
agriculture systems.
Web site http//www.irnase.csic.es/projects/ahipa

This work was supported by European Union FAIR
Grant CT98-4297