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. 2014 Oct;51(10):2535-43.
doi: 10.1007/s13197-012-0776-y. Epub 2012 Aug 25.

Changes in main nutrients and medicinal composition of Chinese yam (Dioscorea opposita) tubers during storage

Zhidan Zhang  1 , Wenyuan Gao  1 , Renfang Wang  2 , Luqi Huang  3
Affiliations

Changes in main nutrients and medicinal composition of Chinese yam (Dioscorea opposita) tubers during storage

Zhidan Zhang et al. J Food Sci Technol. 2014 Oct.

Abstract

The changes in the main nutrient and medicinal components during the storage of the Chinese yam (Dioscorea opposita) tubers were studied. The harvested tubers were stored under ambient conditions (10 °C to 18 °C, 60 % to 80 % Relative Humidity) and cold temperature and packaged conditions (4 °C, 60 % to 65 % Relative Humidity) for 45 day. The allantoin, starch, total alcohol-soluble sugar, reducing sugar, protein, and moisture contents of the samples were evaluated. Their amylase activities were also investigated. Results of ambient conditions indicated that, during storage, moisture decreased by 67.96 % to 56.51 %, and total sugars, reducing sugars, and protein increased by 6.49 % to 9.81 %, 1.7 % to 2.27 %, and 13.02 % to 14.55 %, respectively. Starch and enzyme activities increased during the early days of storage and progressively decreased, and the content of allantoin changed in volatility. The changes were more significant at cold temperatures and packaged conditions than at ambient conditions. This result suggests that after-ripening occurred in the early stages of Chinese yam tubers, which positively affected the nutritional potential of the tubers by a marked increase in nutrients. Low-temperature sweetening greatly affects the nutritional potential of tubers by a series of complicated interactions between starch and sugars at 4 °C.

Keywords: After-ripening; Chinese yam; Low temperature sweetening; Nutrients; Storage.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Changes in moisture, allantoin, starch, total sugars, reducing sugars, amylase activities and protein of Chinese yam tubers during storage at ambient conditions and at cold temperature and packaged conditions.(■) at ambient conditions (10 °C to 18 °C); (▲) at cold temperature and packaged conditions (n = 3)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a High Performance Liquid Chromatography chromatograms of allantoin standard at the concentration of 0.00324 mg/mL; retention time = 6.18 min. b High Performance Liquid Chromatography chromatograms of yam extract at the concentration of; retention time = 6.19 min
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