Tigernuts (Chufa): Nutrients, What Research Shows and Safety

Tigernuts are not nuts. They are small, wrinkled tubers, the underground storage parts of a sedge plant, Cyperus esculentus (family Cyperaceae, the sedge family), also called chufa, earth almond or yellow nutsedge. [4] They taste sweet and nutty, and in Spain they are soaked and pressed to make horchata de chufa, a milky summer drink. [1] This page covers the tuber as a food and keeps it apart from tigernut oil and lab extracts, and it says plainly that little human research exists.

Read this first

• A tuber, not a nut. That matters for allergy: tigernut allergy seems rare, but case reports exist, including anaphylaxis to tigernut milk. [4][5][6] Tigernut is not named in the NHS list of common allergic foods or in the FDA list of nine major allergens. [10][11] For trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat, call 911 (or your local emergency number). [10]
• Human research is very thin. We found one small 3-day study of horchata in healthy adults, with no comparison group, and no trials for any disease. [3]
• No USDA entry. USDA FoodData Central has no tigernut item, so the numbers below are ranges from a published review, not USDA data. [1]
• Mold toxins. A 2026 survey of 30 tigernut drinks in Lagos, Nigeria found aflatoxin B1 in 13.3% and ochratoxin A in 30% of samples. [8]

What is in it (published review, not USDA)

USDA has no entry for tigernuts. A 2022 review summarized the tuber's composition as 22.14 to 44.92% lipids, 3.28 to 8.45% protein, 23.21 to 48.12% starch, 8.26 to 15.47% fiber and 1.60 to 2.60% ash. [1] The review does not say in the part we read whether these are fresh or dried tubers, and the range is wide because of variety and growing place. The per-serving column is our arithmetic for 1 ounce (28 g, the USDA/MyPlate unit); there is no official tigernut serving. We found no energy (calorie) figure in the sources we read, so none is shown.

Source: Yu et al. 2022 review. [1] % Daily Value uses the FDA 2016 Daily Values (fat 78 g, fiber 28 g, protein 50 g); values vary with variety, growing place, drying and storage. In a 2026 analysis of tubers and oil from Spain, potassium was the most abundant mineral, and the amounts of lead, cadmium and other heavy metals in the tubers were below the detection limit or gave no appreciable health risk in the authors' calculation. [2] We did not copy mineral amounts because we did not read that paper's mineral table.

Fat type: oleic acid (the main fat in olive oil) is the main fatty acid in tigernut oil, 65 to 69% of its fats in an EFSA opinion. [4] The tuber's phenolic (plant antioxidant) content and antioxidant activity were higher in unpeeled tubers than in peeled ones, which suggests the peel holds most of them; that was a lab test, not a human study. [2]

What research says

Eaten as food vs taken as oil or extract. The one human study used horchata, a milky drink made from the soaked and pressed tuber. [3] EFSA reviewed tigernut oil as a novel food and found it safe under the proposed uses, but its protein was below the limit of detection, so it says little about the whole tuber. [4] Peptide and extract studies are lab work.

How much is a normal serving

There is no official tigernut serving. For nuts and seeds, USDA/MyPlate counts 1 ounce as 1 ounce-equivalent of protein foods; tigernut is not a nut, so we use 1 ounce (28 g) only as a size for comparison. A 2026 study that estimated intake used a "handful" of 30 g as a portion for nuts. [2] Horchata in the 3-day study was 300 mL a day, with no sugar added. [3] This is information, not a prescription. Soaking and cooking: tigernuts are normally sold dried and hard and are soaked before eating or pressing for horchata; we did not read a source on how soaking changes nutrients.

Safety, allergy and medicines

• Allergy. EFSA states that tigernut allergy "seems to be rare", with no prevalence data, and cites older case reports. [4] The case reports we found: allergy to tigernut (2002), pollen-food syndrome involving tigernut (2013), anaphylaxis to tigernut milk (2024), and hypersensitivity pneumonitis in a worker exposed to tigernut dust (1999). We could read only their records, with no abstracts, so we cannot say what happened or how many people. [5][6][7][4] Tigernut belongs to the sedge family, not the nut or legume families, and we found no source on cross-reactivity with tree nuts or peanut. See nut and seed allergy basics.
• Mold toxins. The Lagos survey of 30 drinks found aflatoxin B1 in 13.3%, total aflatoxins in 6.7%, ochratoxin A in 30% and zearalenone in 20% of samples. [8] MedlinePlus says aflatoxins are made by molds that grow on nuts, seeds and legumes and that the FDA allows low levels as unavoidable; large amounts can damage the liver. [15] This is one city's survey; it does not tell us about drinks sold elsewhere. A 2025 Caco-2 cell study found tigernut drink compounds changed how much of some toxins crossed a lab model of the gut, and the authors say more work is needed. [16]
• Digestive effects (bloating, gas). Proper evidence not found in the sources we read. Tigernuts are high in fiber and starch [1], and the 3-day study reported gut bacteria, not symptoms. [3] We did not read a FODMAP source, so we cannot say how tigernuts rank. Fiber in general: see how much fiber per day, and side effects.
• Choking and young children. The CDC names whole or chopped nuts and seeds, and spoonfuls of nut butter, as foods to avoid for young children. [17] Tigernut is not named there; we found no tigernut-specific choking source.
• Medicines. Proper evidence not found in the sources we read.
• Kidney disease. We found no tigernut source on potassium or phosphorus for kidney diets. In one analysis potassium was the most abundant mineral. [2] People on renal diets should ask their kidney team.
• Pregnancy. Proper evidence not found in the sources we read.

Choosing, storing and food safety

• A review notes that harvested tubers carry high microbial loads and that fresh horchata has a short shelf life. [1]
• Because mold toxins were found in some drinks, buy from sources with quality testing and discard moldy tubers, as MedlinePlus advises for nuts. [15][8]
• See storing nuts and seeds. We did not read a tigernut-specific storage source.

Related pages

• Resistant starch foods
• Plant milks: oat, almond, soy and others
• Foods for gut health and bloating
• Nut and seed allergy basics
• Food allergy basics and emergency signs
• Chestnuts