Evaluation of Quality Properties of Brown Tigernut (<i>Cyperus esculentus</i> L.) Tubers from Six Major Growing Regions of China: A New Source of Vegetable Oil and Starch

Abstract

IntroductionTigernut (Cyperus esculentus L.) is grown for its tubers, which accumulate large amounts of oil 1) . It is widely planted in temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions such as China, France, and the Congo 2) . Tigernut was introduced to China in 1950, and now is cultivated in the provinces of Jilin, Hebei, Henan, and Yunnan for sustainable utilization of wasteland and mudflats 3) .Tigernut oil (TNO) , is approximately 28％ by dry weight of tigernut tubers. It is comparable to olive oil and walnut oil in containing a particularly high level of monounsaturated fatty acids (＞65％) 4) . TNO mainly consists of five fatty acids: palmitic, oleic, linoleic, stearic and n-heneicosanoic acid 5) . Tigernut starch (TS)

Ultrasound-assisted extraction and physicochemical properties of starch from Cyperus esculentus tubers

“…The starch content of C. esculentus tubers is high. Wu et al (2024) analyzed the starch composition of C. esculentus from six different regions in China, with the highest starch content reaching 34.8%. Sometimes people use cold pressing to obtain the oil of C. esculentus tubers, while the remaining oil residue cake is used for feed, and the starch in it is not well utilized.…”