Effect of Pre-Gelatinization on Nutritive and Non-Nutritive Constituents of Taro (Colocasia Esculenta L) Corm

The study was conducted using factorial combination of two independent variables (taro leaf varieties and processing methods) with three replications in a completely randomized design (CRD) at the same significant level (α<0.05). The analysis undertaken in this study was leaf proximate composition, mineral concentration and antinutritional factors of samples processed as pre-gelatinized taro starch with and without peel. The moisture content (%) between taro varieties in this study was ranged from 6.218 ± 1.835 to 4.218 ± 2.162, crude protein (CP%) from 12.127 ± 2.326 to 10.498 ± 2.384, crude fat (EE%) from 3.421 ± 0.659 to 2.608 ± 1.116, crude fiber (CF%) from 2.801 ± 0.938 to 2.110 ± 0.262, total ash (TA%) content ranged from 3.886 ± 0.794 to 3.296 ± 0.494, carbohydrate content (%) from 75.489 ± 4.436 to 72.534 ± 2.107, amylose content (%) ranged from (12.894 ± 0.679) to (13.557 ± 0.490), beta (β)-carotene content mg/100 g from 2.307 ± 0.162 to 2.107 ± 0.502. The five macro minerals, mg/100 g of Na, K, Mg, P and Ca in this study were significantly (p<0.05) different and ranged from minimum 9.716 ± 4.52, 17.743 ± 1.364, 7.683 ± 0.185, 0.736 ± 0.307 and 11.280 ± 4.78 to maximum13.443 ± 5.704, 18.923 ± 1.543, 8.233 ± 0.830, 1.063 ± 0.307, 16.280 ± 4.68 values, respectively and micro minerals like Zn, Fe, and Cu (mg/100 g) were significantly (p<0.05) varied from minimum 8.526 ± 2.418, 88.773 ± 17.205 and 0.296 ± .125 to maximum 11.310 ± 2.674, 104.303 ± 16.109 and 0.403 ± 0.096 values, respectively. The anti-nutritional content like condensed tannin, phytate, mucilage, oxalate, lectin, protease inhibitor and alpha (α)-amylase inhibitor were determined and their inhibitory effects were reduced in flour samples pre-gelatinized without peel. From the general trend observed in this study most of the analyzed samples that boloso-1 taro variety subjected to pre-gelatinization without peel provided better proximate (except CF%), mineral, functional and lower anti-nutritional content than that of the local taro variety.