Volume 18, Issue 4, December 2016, Pages 1015–1022
Delali Polycarp1, Emmanuel Ohene AFOAKWA2, Agnes K. Anane-Asamoah3, and Baako Haruna4
1 Department of Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, P. O. Box 767, Bolgatanga, UER, Ghana
2 Department of Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, P. O. Box 767, Bolgatanga, UER, Ghana
3 University of Ghana, Ghana
4 Department of Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, P. O. Box 767, Bolgatanga, UER, Ghana
Original language: English
Copyright © 2016 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This study was designed to characterize the most cultivated and consumed yam (Dioscorea) cultivars within the Ghanaian yam germplasm based on their physico-functional properties in order to assess their potential alternative food and industrial processing applications. Matured yam varieties grown and harvested under the same climatic and edaphic factors were obtained from the Roots and Tuber Conservatory Division of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute, Bunso Ghana. Colour of bulk flour for each yam sample was measured using the Hunter Lab Colour Difference Meter. Functional properties such as water absorption capacity, swelling power and solubility index were determined using standard analytical procedures. Significant differences (p<0.05) existed among the yam varieties for their colour and functional properties. Flours of D. bulbifera and D. dumetorum had an attractive yellow colour while flour of D. esculenta recorded the highest whiteness (L = 84.09). D. esculenta had the highest swelling power (9.4%) and solubility index of 27.6%. No significant difference was observed in water absorption at 27°C and 70°C for all varieties except D. dumetorum. D. dumetorum flour had relatively high water absorption capacity of 295.9% in water at 27°C and 189.4% in water at 70°C. The findings from this research will be relevant to yam producers and processors in programmes aimed at developing new food/industrial processing applications using Ghanaian yams.
Author Keywords: Dioscorea, physico-functional property, water absorption capacity, solubility index, chromatic index.
Delali Polycarp1, Emmanuel Ohene AFOAKWA2, Agnes K. Anane-Asamoah3, and Baako Haruna4
1 Department of Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, P. O. Box 767, Bolgatanga, UER, Ghana
2 Department of Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, P. O. Box 767, Bolgatanga, UER, Ghana
3 University of Ghana, Ghana
4 Department of Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, P. O. Box 767, Bolgatanga, UER, Ghana
Original language: English
Copyright © 2016 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
This study was designed to characterize the most cultivated and consumed yam (Dioscorea) cultivars within the Ghanaian yam germplasm based on their physico-functional properties in order to assess their potential alternative food and industrial processing applications. Matured yam varieties grown and harvested under the same climatic and edaphic factors were obtained from the Roots and Tuber Conservatory Division of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute, Bunso Ghana. Colour of bulk flour for each yam sample was measured using the Hunter Lab Colour Difference Meter. Functional properties such as water absorption capacity, swelling power and solubility index were determined using standard analytical procedures. Significant differences (p<0.05) existed among the yam varieties for their colour and functional properties. Flours of D. bulbifera and D. dumetorum had an attractive yellow colour while flour of D. esculenta recorded the highest whiteness (L = 84.09). D. esculenta had the highest swelling power (9.4%) and solubility index of 27.6%. No significant difference was observed in water absorption at 27°C and 70°C for all varieties except D. dumetorum. D. dumetorum flour had relatively high water absorption capacity of 295.9% in water at 27°C and 189.4% in water at 70°C. The findings from this research will be relevant to yam producers and processors in programmes aimed at developing new food/industrial processing applications using Ghanaian yams.
Author Keywords: Dioscorea, physico-functional property, water absorption capacity, solubility index, chromatic index.
How to Cite this Article
Delali Polycarp, Emmanuel Ohene AFOAKWA, Agnes K. Anane-Asamoah, and Baako Haruna, “Physico-functional characteristics of Seven Different Yams (Dioscorea species) in Ghana,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 1015–1022, December 2016.
