DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2016.v04i08.010

Pages: 656-660

Food crisis is one of the major global problems and finding solution to this is a huge challenge for researchers. Underutilized crops, with good nutritional potential and easily cultivable characteristics, are been recognize as a promising solution for this. There are number of underutilized root and tuber crops available in Sri Lanka. Most of their nutritional value has not been investigated yet. Hence this research attempt to investigate nutritional value of selected root and tuber crops available in Sri Lanka. Five varieties of Dioscorea alata including three Rajala cultivars, two Kahata angala cultivars and Elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paenoiifolius) were used for the study. Proximate composition (moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, ash and carbohydrate) and mineral composition (Fe, Cu, K, Zn, Na, Mg and Ca) of all those samples were analyzed. All studied varieties found to be rich in all studied nutritional components equally or over the presently cultivated root and tubers. Out of the root and tubers studied, the highest nutritional composition recorded for Elephant foot yam. Hence, it can be concluded that the selected varieties of underutilized root and tuber crops exist a great nutritional potential.