Análisis fitoquímico de tubérculos de chufa

Chufa (Cyperus esculentus, L. var. sativus Boeck.) is a horticultural crop cultivated in L’Horta Nord de Valencia (Spain) for its use in the horchata production. Currently, the acreage consisted on around 300 ha, with an average yield of 19.9 t·ha-1. Since ancient times, horchata produced with chufa tubers is considered to have beneficial effects on human health. In recent times, there is an increasing interest on the chufa tuber use in food technology, standing out the potential positive effects on human health, such as preventing blood pressure and cancer problems. That was the reason to study the antioxidant capacity of the chufa tubers and their corresponding content on total polyphenol concentration, as well as their influence on the Angiontensin-I converting enzyme (ACE), which plays an essential role on blood pressure regulation. The experiments were carried out in the Bioactive Molecules Core Unit of the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center, belonging to Texas A&M University. Tubers produced in Alboraia (Valencia, Spain), were grinded in order to be exported to the United States, where the sample extraction was done with Soxhlet extractors with five different solvents: hexane, ethyl acetate, acetone, methanol, and methanol:nanopure water. The antioxidant capacity was determined following the DPPH method. The Folin-Ciocalteu method was used to determine the total polyphenol concentration. In order to determine the ACE inhibition capacity a protocol was established, adapting to the sample characteristics. From the results, it can be said that chufa tubers present certain antioxidant capacity, which is probably due to chemical compounds, which are different from the polyphenols, since their concentration in chufa tubers is nearly negligible. Chufa tubers can stimulate the ACE activity, which could increase blood pressure, allowing their use in cases of hypotension.