Morphological, Physicochemical, Nutritional, Technological and Health Characterization of Tubers About Three Nutsedge (Cyperus Esculentus) Cultivars Produced and Marketed in Benin

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> The edible nutsedge is an weedy plant species whose tuberous roots are comparable to tubers from conventional agriculture. The present study aims to characterize the tubers of three nutsedge cultivars in terms of morphology, technology, nutrition and health. The morphological data reveal average diameter and length of the tubers of the black cultivar greater than those of the brown (twice) and yellow (once) tubers. In addition, the mass of black tubers is 10 times that of brown tubers and 2.5 times that of yellow ones. The black cultivar is on the other hand the least acidic (6.22 ± 0.01) compared to the brown cultivar (5.37 ± 0.01) which is more acidic. Considering the technological parameters, the cultivars are similar according to the tuber densities before and after soaking; CH; IH; CG and IG. Analysis of the nutritional potential of the yellow cultivar reveals high protein (4.04 ± 0.03%) and ash (2.7 ± 0.02%) contents while the highest fat content is contained in the brown nutsedge (21.10 ± 0.12%). The yellow cultivar is richer in Vitamins A and C with 0.62 ± 0.01 mg/L and 0.14%. The same is true for minerals K (8569.01 ± 175 mg/kg); Ca (1333.28 ± 53.4 mg/kg) and P (2000 ± 28.3 mg/kg). The brown cultivar has the highest levels of Iron (136.40 ± 5.30 mg/Kg), Sodium (2217.02 ± 104.2 mg/Kg) although the greatest proportion of Zinc is contained in the cultivar black (185.35 ± 0.28 mg/Kg). FAN are concentrated in the black cultivar with a preponderant content of oxalic acid compared to those of the brown (2 times) and yellow (1.5 times) cultivars. Furthermore, the health assessment presents trace amounts of heavy metals in the three cultivars. Keywords: Yellow nutsedge; cultivar; technological parameters; nutritional potential; heavy metals