Physical-chemical characteristics and bioactive compounds of sweet potato accesses in the central-south region of Paraná

Abstract

The high nutritional value and low marketing costs have increased the consumption of sweet potato roots. In addition, the great genetic variability highlights questions about the nutritional quality of the cultivated accessions. Thereby, this study aimed to characterize and evaluate the physical-chemical characteristics as well as the bioactive compounds of sweet potato roots. The treatments consisted of the use of eleven cultivated accessions (UGA 34, UGA 37, UGA 49, UGA 73, UGA 76, UGA 81, UGA 110, UGA 125, UGA 126, UGA 127 and Parcela 49). The physical-chemical characteristics of Firmness (FI) and Dry Mass (DM) were evaluated in a randomized block design. Indeed, the pH, Soluble Solids (SS), Titratable Acidity (TA), (SS / TA), colorimetric parameters L*, Color Index (C), Chroma (A), Hue angle (B) from peel (external) and pulp (internal) of roots were evaluated. The concentrations of bioactive compound were also evaluated: Total Carotenoid Contents (TCC); Phenolic Compounds (PCs); Ascorbic Acid Contents (AAC); and also, Hydrophilic and Lipophilic Antioxidant Activity (HAA and LAA) of frozen sweet potato. The analysis was performed in triplicate under a completely randomized design. The results indicated a high variability among the cultivated accessions, consisting of a superior root yield for UGA 125 and UGA 127. The genotypes UGA 126 and UGA 34 stood out for SS, LAA and HAA, FI, and DM; however, their colorimetric parameters stood out from the other genotypes. The genotypes UGA 73 and UGA 81 showed higher PCs. In this way, it could be identified the productive potential of the genotypes studied that allows us to indicate the most promising genotypes for cultivation and consumption.