Morphologic and chemical characterizations of some salep orchids

Salep orchids have been used as a food for centuries without cultivating but, mainly harvesting from nature. After powdering, their tubers are utilized as hot beverage and in ice-cream industry as a stabilizer. Due to their importance in food industry, it is important to characterize the morphology and chemistry of salep orchids. In this study, it was aimed to determine some morphological (fresh weight, dry weight and dry matter ratio of tubers and the number of tubers required for 1 kg salep powder) and chemical (glucomannan, starch, protein, moisture, ash, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese and zinc contents and glucomannan/starch ratio of tubers) properties of 10 salep orchid species from 6 genus namely, Anacamptis pyramidalis, Dactylorhiza romana, Himantoglossum caprinum, Himantoglossum comperianum, Ophrys apifera, Ophrys mammosa, Orchis coriophora, Orchis morio, Orchis tridendata, Serapias vomeracea grown in nature of Black Sea Region of Türkiye. Such a kinds of data is the first and can be beneficial in utilizing the researched species in food industry.