Yacon is a plant from South America that has recently been grown in Europe. Yacon produces sweet fruit in the form of tubers that can be used to make syrup. Yacon syrup is a he althy sugar substitute with a lower calorie content. In addition to sweetening properties, it has a he alth-promoting effect on the human body.

Yaconis a plant native to South America. It grows in the Andes, where it has been used for thousands of years by the Maya and Inca. It was first mentioned in European writings in 1615. In Europe, this plant was not cultivated until the beginning of the 90s, when it was brought to the Czech Republic and began to be grown mainly for research purposes. Currently, Yacon is grown not only in Peru, but also in New Zealand, Japan, USA, and in Europe in Italy, Russia, Czech Republic and France, where it is called pear.

Yacon - what does it look like?

Yacon belongs to the Asteraceae family, which also includes chicory and Jerusalem artichoke. The above-ground part of the plant consists of branchy leaves, while the underground part - sweet-tasting tubers resembling oblong potatoes. Yacon tubers are fruit, not vegetables, and unlike other tubers, they do not require any heat treatment prior to consumption. Yacon fruit can be eaten raw, so it was the staple food of the Indian messengers who crossed the Andes.

Yacon tubers are juicy, with a flavor described as a combination of apple and watermelon. One plant produces up to 20 fruits (approx. 10 kg). In its natural conditions, yacon is a perennial. In Poland, it can also be grown, but it is necessary to plant it annually and to protect it from frost. Yacon tolerates temperatures above 4 degrees C and above best, and requires good irrigation.

Yacon - cultivation

Yacon fruits become sweeter during storage, so the native inhabitants of the Andes, after digging, left them in the sun for a few days to take on sweetness and improve their taste.

If we want to grow yacon in Poland, it will not be difficult. The plant does not require fertile soil, but needs a sunny position and good irrigation. The sprouts are planted in pots in early spring and transferred to the ground in June. Tubers are dug out of the groundbefore the first frosts, then stored in a dark place, uncovered, for a month in order to produce the right amount of sugar and obtain the desired taste. After that, the tubers can be covered with earth, peat or sawdust so that they do not dry out and stored like this until February-March.

Yacon - application

Yacon can be eaten after the first month of storage, peeled and eaten raw. The tubers can be fried, stewed, sliced ​​dried and eaten as a snack. They can be an ingredient of salads, squeezed juice tastes good.

In the last few years, yacon has started to be made into syrups, jams, juices, crisps and breakfast cereals. In industry, yacon tubers are most often used for the production of flour, extracts from roots and leaves, and syrup, which can be used as a sweetener for diabetics. Teas are prepared from the leaves. Both yacon tubers and leaves have he alth-promoting properties.

Yacon - composition and he alth properties

Yacon tubers consist of about 80% water. Thanks to this, they are low in calories - they provide 14.8-22.4 kcal per 100 g of fresh fruit mass. The reserve material in yacon are fructans (including inulin and fructooligosaccharides), the amount of which reaches 67% of dry weight. 100 g of tuber dry matter contains:

  • 17.9 g of inulin,
  • 19.3 g fructose,
  • 6.93 g glucose,
  • 2.86 g sucrose,
  • 15.4 g protein.

Fructans are not metabolized in the digestive tract, therefore they do not raise blood sugar levels. They are a prebiotic - they contribute to the growth of normal intestinal microflora, lower the pH of the intestinal contents, improve the absorption of minerals and lower blood cholesterol. They also reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Yacon tubers and leaves are also a rich source of phenolic acids and other compounds with antioxidant properties (polyphenols). The presence of significant amounts of chlorogenic, caffeic and ferulic acid was found in them. Yacon tubers are characterized by over 10 times higher content of polyphenols than potato tubers. Due to the large amount of antioxidants, they have a protective effect on cells, they can be an element of the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Yacon leaves are used to prepare infusions that are very beneficial for diabetics. Drinking them causes a reduction in blood glucose levels after 10 days of use. It also has the effect of reducing postprandial glycemia. It turns out that with prolonged use, the mechanism of action of the substances contained in the yacon leaf extract is similar to the mechanism of actioninsulin.

This will be useful to you

Content of selected nutrients [%] in yacon leaves and tubers:

Ingredients

Content (%)

leaves

tubers

Water

Protein

Carbohydrates

Fat

Ash

fiber

10,5

21.5

-

4,2

12,5

11,6

70-93

0.4-2.0

12,5

0.1-0.3

0.3-2.0

0.3-1.7

How is yacon syrup made?

The most popular form in which we can buy yacon is syrup made from its tubers. It is classified as a raw food, which means it cannot be made using high temperatures.

Tubers with the highest fructo-oligosaccharide content are selected for the production of the syrup. Yacon is slowly squeezed, and during this process, treatments are applied to prevent the oxidation of valuable he alth-promoting ingredients. The squeezed juice contains a small amount of solid elements, therefore it is filtered. Then, evaporation and initial concentration of the syrup take place, it is filtered and further concentrated to obtain the final product with specific parameters. After final filtration, the yacon syrup is bottled. 1 kg of syrup is obtained from 10-15 kg of tubers.

The syrup contains 65-70% carbohydrates, approx. 25% water, 1-2% protein and less than 0.1% fat. It provides from 164 to 265 kcal in 100 g. This value depends on the content of fructo-oligosaccharides in the final product. The higher the content of he alth-beneficial fructo-oligosaccharides, the lower the caloric content. The composition of an exemplary yacon syrup is as follows:

  • fructo-oligosaccharides - 47%,
  • sucrose - 20%,
  • fructose - 7%,
  • glucose - 3%,
  • protein - 1%,
  • water - 22%.

Application of yacon syrup

Yacon syrup can be used as a sugar substitute with a lower calorie content.100 g of syrup provides about half as many calories as white sugar . It is also recommended for diabetics. It contains a large amount of fructo-oligosaccharides that are not digested in the gastrointestinal tract and slow down the penetration of sugars into the blood. Thanks to this, they prevent the rapid increase in glucose levels and insulin bursts.

Yacon syrup looks and tastes like molasses and maple syrup. It can also have a fig-like flavor. The syrup is used hot and cold in cake recipesand cookies, as an addition to cocktails, an ingredient in salad dressing and meat glaze. You can use it for sweet sauces, add it to coffee and tea, and prepare caramel popcorn with it.

Yacon syrup is a he althy and valuable alternative to sugar in the kitchen, but its price is very high. A 250 ml bottle costs about PLN 60-70. The daily dose should not exceed 20 g of fructooligosaccharides, i.e. about 40 g of the syrup. Consuming more yacon syrup may result in bloating and gas, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

He alth properties of yacon syrup

Yacon fruit syrup owes its he alth-promoting properties to the high content of fructo-oligosaccharides and antioxidants. Due to its lower calorific value than sugar, honey or maple syrup, yacon syrup is recommended as a sweetener in a slimming diet. It has a beneficial effect on the intestinal microflora, prevents constipation, improves the absorption of calcium, folic acid and B vitamins, lowers the level of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, supports immunity and reduces the risk of colon cancer. It can also help in losing excess body weight.

The effect of yacon syrup on the circulatory system and cholesterol

A study on rats showed that taking yacon syrup in the diet in the company of fatty acids caused a decrease in blood triglycerides by approx. 40%. At the same time, no changes in cholesterol absorption were noticed. It is probably related to the inhibition of the synthesis of triglycerides in the liver. It seems that the fructo-oligosaccharides in the syrup reduce the fatty liver due to excess fructose in the diet. In the group of obese people with dyslipidemia, yacon syrup was administered for 120 days in an amount that provided 140 mg of fructooligosaccharides per kilogram of body weight (10 g in a person weighing 70 kg). There was a reduction in blood LDL cholesterol levels without a marked decrease in total cholesterol and no effect on the HDL fraction.

Effect of yacon on blood glucose levels

The extracts and infusions of yacon leaves have a beneficial effect on lowering blood glucose levels. The syrup has no such effect. However, in a study on a group of obese women with insulin resistance, a decrease in blood insulin levels was noticed as a result of consuming yacon tuber syrup.

Yacon increases the absorption of minerals

Fructo-oligosaccharides consumed with the diet have a proven ability to increase the absorption of minerals at the gut level. This applies, inter alia, to calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, which have a positive effect on increasing bone mass. Same dependencyhas been observed with fructo-oligosaccharides from yacon syrup.

Prebiotic effect of yacon syrup

Fructooligosaccharides from yacon turned out to be a great prebiotic, i.e. a medium for the growth of beneficial lactic acid bacteria in the intestinesLactobacillusandBifidobacterium . Bacteria used them as a carbon source as effectively as in the case of a commercially available prebiotic.

Effect of yacon syrup on weight loss

Regarding the weight loss benefits of yacon syrup, there is little research and contradiction. Some of them showed a positive effect on weight loss associated with an increase in insulin sensitivity. The subjects also show an increase in the feeling of fullness after consuming the syrup, which may be the reason for the lower intake of calories with food. Propagator of yacon syrup used as a remedy in the fight against excess weight is the controversial Dr. Oz, very popular in the United States. Women who are slimming under his supervision lose weight, but it cannot be clearly said that the cause is drinking syrup. The slimming effect of yacon syrup requires more careful research.

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