NUTRITIVE POTENTIAL OF SOTOL (Dasylirion cedrosanum) SEEDS

Abstract

Agriculture in the 21th century faces the challenge of sustainable food production in a scenario of climate change. While highly caloric processed foods increase, there is a deficiency of micronutrients, fiber and good quality protein. Sustainable use of plants with wide adaptation to harsh environments can help to improve human diet. A remarkable genus for its wide adaptation, mainly in arid lands, is Dasylirion. It comprises a group of plants commonly called sotoles, broadly distributed in arid zones of Mexico and Southern United States. The use of this wild, albeit cultivable plant, is mainly for production of an alcoholic spirit called sotol. The study of the nutritional content of Dasylirion seeds can give an added use to this genus. The purpose of this research was to assess the nutritional quality of the seeds of an abundant species of this group, D. cedrosanum. Bromatological and mineral analyses were performed in populations from the states of Coahuila and Zacatecas, in Mexico. Samples were taken from three locations, with the harvest of the seeds three plants per site and triplicate determinations with whole wheat flour control. The sotol flour had higher protein content (27.7 %), 7 times more fat (18.4 %) and 10 times more fiber (16.2 %) than wheat flour. Additionally, sotol flour had 35 times more Ca, six times more Fe and three times more Zn and Cu than wheat flour. Although these remarkable nutritional parameters were consistent across locations, the Buenavista site plants showed the highest nutritional values. These results indicate that sotol seeds have a good potential as food and feed for humans, cattle and poultry.