The yam bean originally grew where the Andes met the Amazon and is locally produced in South and Central America, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific.
It exists as three species – the Amazonian, Mexican and the Andean, and interbreeding of the bean has resulted in fertile and stable hybrids.
According to the American Society of Agronomy study, the yam bean has the potential to be reclassified as a single species and to provide high quality food production to offer a sustainable cropping system that is needed in Africa.
Additionally, as part of the research project, the team also believe they have discovered a protein-rich starch staple in the yam bean in Peru, called a ‘Chuin’.
The crop was previously considered a root vegetable due to the high water content, but this Chuin type has lower water content. Families living in the area have been producing it as flour.
Toxic seeds
The crop has extremely high seed production, but its seeds contain high concentrations of rotenone. This toxic compound has been used for reducing fish populations and parasitic mites on poultry. Seeds are never consumed since they are mildly toxic to humans and other mammals.
If the rotenone was removed from the seeds, they could provide a strong protein source as well as seed oil which is profitable in the food industry.
Séraphin Zanklan, a scientist at Centre Songhai in Porto-Novo, Benin, West Africa, has investigated the yam bean for its potential to grow and produce food under West African conditions.
The study was funded by a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
The bean could make a significant contribution to the improvement of food support, especially where resources are poor.
The research is ongoing at the International Potato Center, which has a mandate for the bean in the frame of Andean Root and Tuber Crops.
Further evaluation is needed on the range of yam bean variations under different conditions.
Results from the study will be published in the July-August 2007 issue of Crop Science.
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Date Published: September 17, 2007
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