Comparative analysis of trypsin inhibitor levels in sweet potato cultivars in Sri Lanka

Sweet potato [ Ipomea batatas (L) Lam . ] is a commonly consumed root crop in Sri Lanka. A study was undertaken to estimate the nutritional aspects in terms of trypsin inhibitory activity (TIA) of five different cultivars of sweet potato (SWP1 - Wariyapola red, SWP3 - Wariyapola white, SWP4 - Pallepola, SWP5 - Malaysian variety and SWP7 - CARI 273) commonly consumed in Sri Lanka. The moisture level ranged between 65.0 ± 3.4 and 74.6 % ± 1.9 and the crude protein content varied between 1.2 ± 0.1 and 3.3 % ± 0.1. The TIA in unheated and heated sweet potato root samples varied between 1.9 ± 0.01 to 15.4 ± 0.4 and 0.156 ± 0.01 to 13.0 ± 0.01, respectively. In all the cultivars studied the TIA was significantly different at p DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/jnsfsr.v42i1.6681 J.Natn.Sci.Foundation Sri Lanka 2014 42 (1): 63-69