Plukenetia volubilis | |
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Fruit of Plukenetia volubilis, Ecuador | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malpighiales |
Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
Genus: | Plukenetia |
Species: | P. volubilis |
Binomial name | |
Plukenetia volubilis | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Plukenetia volubilis, commonly known as sacha inchi, sacha peanut, mountain peanut, Inca nut or Inca-peanut, is a perennial plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, having small trichomes on its leaves. It is native to much of tropical South America (Suriname, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and northwestern Brazil), as well as some of the Windward Islands in the Caribbean. [2] It is cultivated commercially in South East Asia, most notably in Thailand. Although its raw seeds and leaves contain toxins, these components are safe for consumption after roasting. [3]
Plukenetia volubilis should not be confused with Caryodendron orinocense , which is commonly known as inchi, cacay, or orinoconut.
In the Amazon Rainforest in Peru, it has been cultivated by indigenous people for centuries, and will grow in warm climates up to altitudes of 1,700 meters (5,500 feet) as long as there is continued availability of water and good drainage. It grows better in acidic soils and alluvial flats near rivers.
The plant reaches a height of 2 metres (6' 6"), with alternate, heart shaped, serrated leaves, 10 to 12 cm long (4"-4.7") and 8 to 10 cm (3.1-3.9") wide, that have petioles 2–6 cm (0.8-2.3") long. It flowers five months after being planted, and bears seeds around the eighth month. The male flowers are small, white, and arranged in clusters. Two female flowers are located at the base of the inflorescence. In tropical locations it is often a vine requiring support and producing seeds nearly year-round.
The fruits are capsules of 3 to 5 cm in diameter with 4 to 7 points, are green and ripen blackish brown. On ripening, the fruits contain a soft black wet pulp that is messy and inedible, so are normally left to dry on the plant before harvest. By two years of age, often up to a hundred dried fruits can be harvested at a time, giving 400 to 500 seeds a few times a year. Fruit capsules usually consist of four to five lobes, but some may have up to seven. Inside are the seeds, oval, dark-brown, 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter with a mass of 45 to 100 grams.[ clarification needed ] The cotyledons are open, similar to those of almonds, and covered with a whitish film. Raw seeds are inedible, but roasting after shelling makes them palatable.
The seeds of inchi have high protein (27%) and oil (35 - 60%) content, and the oil is rich in the essential fatty acids omega-3 linolenic acid (≈45-53% of total fat content) and omega-6 linoleic acid (≈34-39% of fat content), as well as non-essential omega-9 (≈6-10% of fat content). [4] [5]
When raw, P. volubilis seeds and leaves contain appreciable amounts of alkaloids, saponins, and lectins which may be toxic if consumed before cooking, but are degraded by roasting. [3] The edible seed oil is a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids. [5]
The roasted seeds can be consumed as nuts, and roasted leaves chewed or made into a tea. [3]
Sacha inchi oil has a mild flavour with a nutty finish and may be appropriate for a variety of cuisines, [3] although when consumed daily after one week, some subjects indicated low acceptance for the oil. [6] Rich in alpha-linolenic acid, [5] the oil was evaluated in a 4 month ingestion study (10-15 millilitres per day) by adults, showing it was safe and tended to increase blood levels of HDL cholesterol. [6]
In Peru during 2009, the humanitarian group Oxfam supported techniques for growing sacha inchi as a cash crop by indigenous groups like the Ashaninka. [7]
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, Linum usitatissimum, in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in English as linen and are traditionally used for bed sheets, underclothes, and table linen. Its oil is known as linseed oil. In addition to referring to the plant, the word "flax" may refer to the unspun fibers of the flax plant. The plant species is known only as a cultivated plant and appears to have been domesticated just once from the wild species Linum bienne, called pale flax. The plants called "flax" in New Zealand are, by contrast, members of the genus Phormium.
The peanut, also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and large commercial producers. It is classified as both a grain legume and, due to its high oil content, an oil crop. World annual production of shelled peanuts was 44 million tonnes in 2016, led by China with 38% of the world total. Atypically among legume crop plants, peanut pods develop underground (geocarpy) rather than above ground. With this characteristic in mind, the botanist Carl Linnaeus gave peanuts the specific epithet hypogaea, which means "under the earth".
α-Linolenic acid, also known as alpha-Linolenic acid (ALA), is an n−3, or omega-3, essential fatty acid. ALA is found in many seeds and oils, including flaxseed, walnuts, chia, hemp, and many common vegetable oils.
Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil, is a colourless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant. The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction.
Hemp oil is oil obtained by pressing hemp seeds. Cold pressed, unrefined hemp oil is dark to clear light green in color, with a nutty flavor. The darker the color, the grassier the flavour. It should not be confused with hash oil, a tetrahydrocannabinol-containing oil made from the Cannabis flower.
Salvia hispanica, one of several related species commonly known as chia, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala. It is considered a pseudocereal, cultivated for its edible, hydrophilic chia seed, grown and commonly used as food in several countries of western South America, western Mexico, and the southwestern United States.
Omega-6 fatty acids are a family of polyunsaturated fatty acids that have in common a final carbon-carbon double bond in the n-6 position, that is, the sixth bond, counting from the methyl end.
gamma-Linolenic acid or GLA is an n−6, or omega-6, fatty acid found primarily in seed oils. When acting on GLA, arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase produces no leukotrienes and the conversion by the enzyme of arachidonic acid to leukotrienes is inhibited.
Physalis peruviana is a species of plant in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) native to Chile and Peru. Within that region it is called aguaymanto, uvilla or uchuva, in addition to numerous indigenous and regional names. In English, its common names include Cape gooseberry, goldenberry and Peruvian groundcherry.
Lupinus mutabilis is a species of lupin grown in the Andes, mainly for its edible bean. Vernacular names include tarwi, chocho, altramuz, Andean lupin, South American lupin, Peruvian field lupin, and pearl lupin. Its nutrient-rich seeds are high in protein, as well as a good source for cooking oil. However, their bitter taste has made L. mutabilis relatively unknown outside the Andes, though modern technology makes it easier to remove the bitter alkaloids. Like other species of lupin beans, it is expanding in use as a plant-based protein source.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids are a subclass of fatty acids that contain two or more carbon–carbon double bonds in their backbone. Some polyunsaturated fatty acids are essentials. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are precursors to and are derived from polyunsaturated fats, which include drying oils.
Perilla oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from perilla seeds. Having a distinct nutty aroma and taste, the oil pressed from the toasted perilla seeds is used as a flavor enhancer, condiment, and cooking oil in Korean cuisine. The oil pressed from untoasted perilla seeds is used for non-culinary purposes.
Perilla frutescens, also called deulkkae or Korean perilla, is a species of Perilla in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is an annual plant native to Southeast Asia and Indian highlands, and is traditionally grown in the Korean peninsula, southern China, Japan and India as a crop.
Gấc [IPA ɣək̚˧˦] is a type of perennial melon grown throughout Southeast Asian countries and Northeastern Australia. Gấc is notable for its vivid orange-reddish color resulting from its rich content of beta-carotene and lycopene.
Archidendron pauciflorum, commonly known as djenkol, jengkol or jering is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia, where the seeds are a popular dish. They are mainly consumed in Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam and prepared by frying, boiling, or roasting and are also eaten raw. The beans are mildly toxic due to the presence of djenkolic acid, an amino acid which causes djenkolism. The beans and leaves of the djenkol tree are traditionally used for medicinal purposes such as purifying the blood. To date, djenkol is traded on local markets only.
Eugenia dysenterica is a tree from the family Myrtaceae, native of the Cerrado, the central savannah region of Brazil. It is locally known by the Portuguese names cagaita or cagaiteira.
Sacha inchi nut oil is extracted by pressing it from the seeds and flesh of the fruit from the Plukenetia volubilis, or pracaxi, a tree native to the area surrounding the Amazon River.
Only two essential fatty acids are known to be essential for humans: alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid. The biological effects of the ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids are mediated by their mutual interactions. Closely related, these fatty acids act as competing substrates for the same enzymes. The biological effects of the ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids are largely mediated by essential fatty acid interactions. The proportion of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids in a diet may have metabolic consequences. Unlike omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids, omega-9 fatty acids are not classed as essential fatty acids because they can be created by the human body from monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids, and are therefore not essential in the diet.
Caryodendron orinocense, commonly known as cacay, inchi or orinoconut, is an evergreen tree belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae.