Evaluation of nutritional and anti‐nutritional compounds from tania (Xanthosoma Schott) corms

Abstract

PurposeTuber crops are extremely important for humans, being extensively used in many cultures and mainly in poor and developing countries. Tanias (Xanthosoma Schott) belong to the Aracea family and have been commonly used as a staple food since pre‐Columbian times. Nowadays, tanias are integrated in the staple diet of several countries in the Americas, West Africa, Asia and the Pacific. In order to shed light on their potential and possible risks for human nutrition, nutritional and anti‐nutritional evaluations of different compounds synthesized by tania corms were carried out by using seven tropical species.Design/methodology/approachClassical analyses for non‐structural carbohydrates and nitrogenated compounds as well inhibitory assays towards α‐amylases and proteases were employed.FindingsTests for quantitation of reducing sugars, soluble polysaccharides, free amino acid content and total protein amounts presented variable scores among studied species. Nevertheless, the amounts of non‐starchy polysaccharides and sugars were less than those observed in other tuber crops, such as potato, cassava, sweet potato and yam. Otherwise, when anti‐nutritional compounds were evaluated, no digestive enzyme inhibitory activity was detected in performed assays. Moreover, Xanthosoma atrovirens, Xanthosoma brasiliense and Xanthosoma mafaffa showed agglutination activity towards blood type B, probably due to the presence of lectins.Research limitations/implicationsIn summary, data here presented suggest that it is not possible to indicate a single tania candidate as the best choice for human consumption.Originality/valueThe paper presents a pioneer comparison of nutritional and antinutritional compounds between different species of tania corms.