User:Const.Bro/sandbox

Cultivars
The majority of accessions are diploids (2n=24), although triploids (2n=36) and very sporadic tetraploids (2n=28) have also been found. With 187 accessions evaluated with 18 morphological descriptors, 108 morphotypes or groups have been identified. Considering that the reproduction of the species is vegetative and that the production and use of the germination of botanical seeds is very rare, morphological diversity of the ulluco can be seen as high.

The main characteristics that determine the choice of farmers for cultivars are sweetness, storage capacity before consumption, mucilage content and yield. Skin color is also a key parameter to consider while assessing the potential of the ulluco culture. Red tuber plants are the most frost-resistant and that the yellow tubers are the most popularly eaten in markets in Ecuador. However, the attractiveness of the color of cultivars varies among countries and regions. In the New-Zealand market, the preferred skin color was red over plain yellow and mixtures of yellow, green and red. Unusual and unfamiliar colors may explain why some multicolored crops or crops with different colored spots are not appreciated by consumers of New-Zealand.

Nutrition
Fresh tubers of Ulluco is a valuable source of carbohydrates, comparable to one of the most world spread root crop, the potato. It contains also high fiber levels, moderate protein and only little fat (< 2%). Regarding the vitamin content, ulluco tubers contain a significant value of vitamin C (11.5 mg/100 g), higher than the commonly eaten vegetables such as carrots (6 mg/100 g), celery but lower than yams (17.1 mg/100 g) or potato (19.7 mg/100 g). Dietary value variability is pronounced between cultivars.

Little is known about the nutrition content of the leaves, however, they are found to be nutritious and contain 12% protein dry weight.

Carbohydrates
The carbohydrates of ulluco are composed mainly of starch. But there is also a significant amount of mucilage, a heterogeneous and complex polysaccharide that is recognized as a type of soluble fiber. The mucilage level varies among tubers, high content gives to the raw tubers a gummy texture. Soaked in water or cut very finely are methods used to remove the greatest amount of mucilage from raw tubes ,Busch et al 2000 [REF. JESS]. The characteristic is also reduced or lost for cooked tubers. In South America, ulluco tubers with high mucilage content are popular for soups because they add a thicker texture.

Proteins
The proteins contained in the ulluco tubers are a source of amino acids as they contain all the essential amino acids in the human diet: lysine, threonine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine+tyrosine, tryptophan and methionine+cystine,.

Antioxidant activity
Ulluco is a crop that contains betalains pigments in the base form of betacyanins and acid form of betaxanthins. A number of 32 types of betalains have been reported in Ulluco, 20 in the form of betaxanthins and the remaining 12 in the form of betacyanins. Red or purple tuber varieties appear to have a high concentration of betacyanins. A high concentration of betaxanthins is responsible for the yellow or orange coloring of the tubers. In comparison to the three other Andean tuber crops - native potato, oca, and mashua - the antioxidant capacity of the ulluco is low. This is in part explained by the absence of flavonoids, carotenoids and anthocyanins pigments in Ulluco, which is are much more abundant sources of antioxidant compounds than betalains. The stability of the betalains pigments makes ulluco a promising industrial crop of natural pigments.

Comparison to staple root foods
This table shows the nutrient content of ulluco next to other major staple root crops - potato, sweet potato, cassava, and yam. Taken individually, potato, sweet potato, cassava, and yam, rank among the most important food crops in the world in respect of annual volume of production. Together, their annual production is about 736.747 million tonnes (FAO, 2008). Comparing to these staple root and tuber crops, the nutritional value of ulluco is good and promising for the geographical extent of the crop. The carbohydrate content of ulluco is comparable to potato but lower than cassava, sweet potato, and yam ; the fat content is slightly higher than potato and sweet potato but about the same range as cassava and yam ; the protein content is similar to the four staple crops.

The nutritional content for each of the crops listed in the table is measured in its raw state, although staple foods are usually sprouted or cooked before consumption rather than consumed raw. The nutritional composition of the product in sprouted or cooked form may deviate from the values presented. The nutrient composition of the ulluco is given within a range, based on the results of nutritional analyses of ulluco grown in South America.