Discussions regarding lupine and other neglected Andean grains/pulses
(3/10/02)

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postings: 2
countries: Honudras, Peru
organizations/institutions/companies: CIP, COSECHA

Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu
From: Stephen G. Sherwood
Subject: Lupine and other neglected Andean grains/pulses

Dear Barbara, Roland, David and others,

While we are speaking of the Andes, in Ecuador we have been supporting the creation of a national initiative named Ecuaquinua (agri-food chain approach, involving producers, researchers, development organizations, and the food processing industry), that is working with quinua (Chenopodium quinoa) as well as Amaranth (Amaranthus, spp.) and Chocho/tarwi (Lupinus mutabilis). Similar initiatives are active in Peru and Bolivia. Unfortunately, the DANIDA-funded Quinua Project at the International Potato Center (CIP), that specializes in potato as well as other high altitude crops, recently ended, so the Center has effectively concluded its work with quinua, amaranth and chocho/tarwi. This is symptomatic of a broader crises.

Some work is being continued by national programs, but with scant funding. As a result, much germplasm, technical experience, etc. with Andean grains is being lost. Such is the reality of project-driven modern agricultural research and development. Economists might argue that this situation were just the "natural" outcome of market competition, but I view the crises as less a necessary fact and more of a social outcome -- the result of certain dominating economies and their influence on our consumption habits, etc. Personally, I see this as such a big mistake that I am seriously considering shifting my energies to these crops, that offer tremendous nutritional and agronomic benefits with promising domestic and export marketing opportunities, especially for organic production in the Andes and for the resource poor. Some quick notes:

Quinua and amaranth are among the most nutritious crops known. They contain high quality protein and amino acids lysine, methionine and threonin that are scarce in cereals and legumes. They are rich in vitamins A, B2 and E and minerals calcium, iron, copper and zinc. 89% of their fatty acids are unsaturated. Chocho/tarwi is unique in its nutrient composition in that it is richer in protein than many other legumes, being rich in lysine and containing as much oil as soybeans, with an n-3 fatty acid content between 3 and 14% of total fat (I will include some Lupine specific nutritional citations below to complement Thurston's list). McGill University in Canada has been working on a high quality Lupine oil. I understand that the soybean producers in the US have been quite agressive to block lupine research in the US. Fortunately, Europe has generally moved to block import of US transgenic soybean, so there seems to be greater opportunity there.

What impresses me about quinua (and to a lesser extent amaranth) is its impressive ability to thrive in exteme soil and climatic conditions:

Salt tolerance: It can grow in soils with salt concentrations as high as that of seawater. It actually accumulates salt in its tissues, so it can be used for cleaning salt-contaminated soils.

Dought tolerance: In Bolivia we have grown it in pure sand in sites of annual rainfall of 200 mm (deep roots system, vesicles on young plants and low osmotic potential).

Frost tolerance: Quinoa can survive temperatures as low as -8C for multiple hours because of its ability to supercool. In contrast, amaranth is highly susceptible to frost.

In Ecuador, we have been lobbying with the World Food Program to introduce these grains (in the place of US and Canadian lentles and wheat) into the school food program (in Ecuador, thats 2 million kids/day/65gms that in practical terms works out to about 3,000mt/year), but have run into some impressive political pressure. Nevertheless, thanks to the tenacity of the leadership at the WFP, progress is being made.

Regarding agronomics, about 90% of the export market (in US, Eurpope and Japan) for these Andean grains is organic, so we are focusing much attention on synthetic fertilizer- and pesticide-free production. In Ecuador the Escuelas Radiofonicas has organized the production of about 500 mt of organic quinoa/year for export with some 4,000 families. A group of partners are looking to up-scale that effort to 15,000 families. Our projects are supporting a half dozen community-led participatory research groups (CIALs) to adapt quinoa varieties and develop IPM/INM approaches, and we recently began as many pilot Farmer Field Schools for training on ecologically-based approaches to organic production of these grains. Potato, that is usually in the high altitude rotation, creates problems because of its demands for fertilizers and pesticides. As the grains are native crops, there are few pests (with the exception of Chocho, that has a problematic stemborrer) and the chief challenge to organic production has been soil fertility/nutrient management.

We have begun to further develop the limited experience with high altitude green manures/covercrops, chiefly using vetches and clovers with limited tillage/direct planting schemes. As the folks at World Neighbors have demonstrated in Bolivia and elsewhere, Chocho/tarwi can be a great green manure (people speak of 400 kg/nitrogen/ha). Nevertheless, many farmers, particularly in Ecuador, refuse to cut it before harvest, prefering chocho as a direct food source. I have heard Roland calling attention to the need for gg/cc for systems above 2,500m for over a decade now, but little has been accomplished.

Please do not hesistate to contact me if I may provide further information on Andean grain/pulses or contact information of people working in this area in the region. I am sure that partners would be particulary interested in project development opportunities. Sven Jacobsen (s.jacobsen@cgiar.org), the former head of the aforementioned CIP-DANIDA project, is a particularly good resource.

My regards,

Steve Sherwood
(CIP?)

To add to David Thurston's list with some Chocho/tarwi relevant human nutritional information:

Bazan NG. Supply of n-3
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Their Significance in the Central Nervous System. In Wurtman RJ, Wurtman JJ (Eds.) Nutrition and the Brain, Vol. 8. New York: Raven Press Ltd., 1990. pp.1-25.

Berti PR. Dietary adequacy ad its relationship to anthropometric status in a highland Ecuadorian community. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Guelph, Guelph.

Bocanegra M, Elmadfa I, Gross R, Hatzold T. Use of Lupine Mutabilis seeds for edible oil production as an oil crop. In: Proceedings of the first international lupine workshop. Gross E and Bunting ES (eds.). Lima-Cuzco, Peru, 1980. pp 320-331.

Cleland LG, James MJ, Proudman SM, Neumann MA, Gibson RA. Inhibition of human neutrophil leukotriene B4 synthesis in essential fatty acid deficiency: role of leukotriene A hydrolase. Lipids 1994;29:151-155.

Connor WE, Neuringer M. The effects of n-3 fatty acid deficiency and repletion upon the fatty acid composition and function of the brain and retina. Prog Clin Biol Res. 1988; 282: 275-294.

de Roos NM, Bots ML, Katan MB. Replacement of dietary saturated fatty acids by trans fatty acids lowers serum HDL cholesterol and impairs endothelial function in healthy men and women. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2001 Jul;21(7):1233-7.

FAO Produccion y protecion vegetal: El cultivo y la utilizacion del tarwi (lupinus mutabilis sweet). Ranier Gross, FAO, Rome, 1982.

FAO. Fats and oils in human nutrition: report of a joint expert consultation, FAO Food and Nutrition Paper No. 57, 1994

Farquharson J, Cockburn F, Patrick WA, Jamieson EC, Logan RW. Infant cerebral cortex phospholipid fatty acid composition and diet. Lancet. 1992;340:810-813.

Franzosi MG, Brunetti M, Marchioli R, Marfisi RM, Tognoni G, Valagussa F; GISSI-Prevenzione Investigators. Cost-effectiveness analysis of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) after myocardial infarction: results from Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'Infarto (GISSI)-Prevenzione Trial. Pharmacoeconomics 2001;19(4):411-20

Hatzold T, Gonzales J, Bocanegra M, Gross R, Elmadfa I. Possibilities of lupine dibittering through extraction with different solvents. In: Proceedings of the sixth international lupine workshop. Von Baer D (ed.). Temuco-Pucon, Chile, 1990. pp 333-349.

Iso H, Rexrode KM, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE, Colditz GA, Speizer FE, Hennekens CH, Willett WC. Intake of fish and omega-3 fatty acids and risk of stroke in women. JAMA 2001 Jan 17;285(3):304-12

Jensen CL, Chen H, Fraley JK, Anderson RE, Heird WC. Biochemical effects of dietary linoleic/_-linolenic acid ratio in term infants. Lipids. 1996;31:107-113.

Koletzko B. Trans fatty acids may impair biosynthesis of long chain polyunsaturates and growth in man. Acta Paediatr. 1992;81:302-306.

Lara-Garafalo AK. Estudio de alternativas tecnologias para el desamargado de chocho (Lupinus mutabilis sweet).

Lucisano M, Pompei C, Iacomo G. Combined extraction of oil and alkaloids from bitter lupine seeds.

In: Proceedings of the first international lupine workshop. Lima-Cuzco, Peru, Ranier-Gross 1980. pp 292-307.

Macdonald BA. Socioeconomic correlates of rural women's nutrition: the special case of re-introducing quinoa in Ecuador. Doctoral Dissertation, McGill University, Montreal.

Neuringer M, Reisbick S, Janowsky J. The role of n-3 fatty acids in visual and cognitive development: Current evidence and methods of assessment. J Pediatr. 1994;125: S39-S47.

Nilsen DW, Albrektsen G, Landmark K, Moen S, Aarsland T, Woie L. Effects of a high-dose concentrate of n-3 fatty acids or corn oil introduced early after an acute myocardial infarction on serum triacylglycerol and HDL cholesterol. Am J Clin Nutr 2001 Jul;74(1):50-6

Nobukata H, Ishikawa T, Obata M, Shibutani Y. Long-term administration of highly purified eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester prevents diabetes and abnormalities of blood coagulation in male WBN/Kob rats. Metabolism 2000 Jul;49(7):912-9.

PANN 2000. Programa Nacional de Alimentación y Nutrición. Accessed Online 27 September 2001. url: http://www.msp.gov.ec/

Picon-Reategui E. (1976). Nutrition. In P.T. Baker, & M.A. Little (Eds.), Man in the Andes. Stroudsburg: Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross.

Popenoe H, King SR, Leon J, Kalinowski LS, Vietmeyer ND, Dafforn M. Lost crops of the Incas: Little known plants of the Andes with promise for worldwide cultivation. National Academy Press. Washington DC, 1989.

Sammon AM. Dietary linoleic acid, immune inhibition and disease. Postgrad Med J 1999 Mar;75(881):129-32.

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From: Roland Bunch
MULCH-L@cornell.edu
Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002
Subject: Re: Lupine and other neglected Andean grains/pulses

Dear Steve,

With the tremendous amount of N that tarwi fixes (and 400 kg/ha is more than a rumor: it is taken out of the National Academy of Sciences' book, "Tropical Legumes: Resources for the Future," p. 88), it doesn't much matter that people want to harvest the grain--a lot of nitrogen must still be held in the roots, and in the leaves (most of which die and fall off the plant before harvest, right? But that means many of their nutrients still wind up in the soil.)

So even if people do harvest the bean, this plant can be a valuable gm/cc. After all, we also use habas, cowpeas, rice beans, mungbeans, scarlet runner bean, etc., as gm/cc's, even though people eat the grain. And these plants have important positive effects on soil fertility, as well as soil N content.

I am very happy to hear of what your program is doing, and hope you can continue to work with these special Andean crops.

Sincerely, Roland Bunch
COSECHA
Tegucigalpa, Honduras