Highlights

• Bunya nut’s chemical composition was studied for the first time.
• The bunya nut kernel contains mainly moisture and starch.
• The husks and inner coating of the bunya nuts are rich in phenolic compounds.

• The bunya nut chemical composition is similar to pinhão (Brazil) and piñones (Chile). Similarities among these three species allow interchange of knowledge and applications.

In case you’ve never heard of it, the bunya nut is not just a culturally significant Australian nut – dating back to Jurassic times – it could have a big future thanks to University of Queensland-led research revealing its substantial health benefits.
 Dr Jaqueline Moura Nadolny from UQ’s Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation says the bunya nut (Araucaria bidwillii) is an energy and nutrient dense bushfood with huge commercial potential.

“Bunya nuts are low in fat, high in fibre, gluten free and contain all the essential amino acids, protein and folate, while the husk is high in antioxidant compounds,” Dr Nadolny says.
 

 “Indigenous Australians boiled and roasted them, but they can be eaten straight out of the cone, ground into flour, brewed into tea and even fermented,” she says.

Dr Nadolny believes bunya nuts could be as commercially successful as similar nuts from the same family in Brazil and Chile – although the fledgling industry here faces environmental challenges. 

She says established bunya trees are under threat from phytophthora, a root rot which causes dieback.

Making it critical new trees are planted, as well as grafted, to speed up fruiting to within five or six years.
 “Each tree can produce hundreds of cones, and each one of those can contain as many as 100 nuts,” Dr Nadolny explains.

“In South America, grafting has helped boost production.”

Shannon Bauwens, cultural services coordinator for the Bunya People’s Aboriginal Corporation, is one of those who has welcomed Dr Nadolny’s research.

“The bunya nut has a strong cultural significance to traditional owners and other Indigenous peoples who gathered for thousands of years in pre-colonial times for feasting and ceremonies,” Mr Bauwens says.

“The Bunya Mountains in southern Queensland are home to the largest known stand of the species in the world, and the trees live for hundreds of years,” he adds.

“Creating an industry surrounding the bunya nut would not only ensure its survival but create a sustainable industry for mob, allowing them to share their knowledge with the community.” 

Dr Nadolny says bunya nuts could be the centre of a thriving indigenous enterprise.

“I work with indigenous communities who are interested in harvesting, selling and producing food products from the nuts, creating jobs and income,” she says.

“Taking measures now to ensure a healthy future for Australia’s bunya trees could lead to showcasing this incredible food and its potential to the world.

Essentially, the bunya is from the same family as Brazil nuts, which is interesting twist on this research as Dr Nadolny is Brazilian, so she knows a lot about what they do with the same family in South America.

Indigenous people in both countries have known about the benefits for thousands of years, and used them for tea or for eating (after being boiled or fermented).

Dr Nadolny says the cones are quite large, about the size of a human head and there are many nuts in each cone.

She says in the Bunya Mountains, and other areas where they grow, the cones fall from the trees “and it’s like a bowling ball crashing through the bush”.

“In Australia they’re generally wild harvested, rather than in a plantation as such, but in the future, the Bunya People’s Aboriginal Corporation is willing to consider growing them commercially.”

Dr Nadolny’s PhD is the first formal scientific record of these nuts and its numerous health benefits.

Abstract

In the abstract from the research, led by Dr Nadolny, it explains three of the 19 Araucaria tree species from around the world produce large edible seeds.

While composition is established for edible pinhão and piñones nuts from Brazil and Chile, respectively, the first detailed characterisation for the composition of edible Araucaria bidwillii (bunya nut) from Australia is provided.

Almost half the kernel weight is moisture and the main component in the dried kernel is starch.

While low in protein and fat, it contains all essential amino acids and half the fatty acids are polyunsaturated (Omega-3 and 6).

Bunya nuts are a source of dietary fibre, folate and minerals (Cu, Mn, Fe, Mg), while the nut husks and inner coating are high in phenolics, mainly catechin.

The composition supports the traditional knowledge of Aboriginal Australians the bunya nut is an energy dense and nutrient rich food.

 

Similarities in the composition among the three different edible varieties were found, which should assist in developing sustainable value chain propositions via shared knowledge on processing and utilisation.

The focus of this study is the edible Australian Araucaria nut; the bunya.

Once a year, during bunya nut season, corresponding to the start of summer to autumn (December to March), the bunya pine produces ovoid cones covered with sharp projections. These cones can contain 50–100 nuts (Huth, 2002).

The bunya nut is comprised of an external hard husk and an inner coating as well as edible parts such as the kernel and the embryo.

Although bunya nuts are from the same family as pinhão and piñones, there are differences in their external appearance.

In Brazil and Chile, the collection, processing and commercialisation of the nuts is well established. In the south of Brazil, for example, the nuts are available between May and July and can be found in large quantities in most supermarkets and farmers markets.

It is common to find products made with pinhão, such as beer, bread, flour, pickled pinhão, and microwavable frozen boiled pinhão all year round. In Australia however, bunya nuts are not commercialised in a large extent nor processed, being available only in a few farmers markets around Queensland. Bunya nut flour is sporadically sold online, but it is not always available. 

Bunya nuts have a high moisture content and are a source of complex carbohydrates that are primarily starch. They are a source of minerals such as copper, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and iron. Polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly linoleic acid, were found in the kernel. Also, the results for bunya nuts amino acid profile suggest that the protein present in the nut is of high quality, since it contains all the essential amino acids in high quantities.