Characterization of taro (Colocasia esculenta) genotypes for nutrients, anti-nutrients, phytochemicals composition, and antioxidant potentials in Southwest Ethiopia

Taro is a high-yielding yet underutilized crop in Ethiopia. Comprehensive investigation of the biochemical composition and antioxidant potentials of Ethiopian taro genotypes are scarce, despite their potential to reveal their valuable nutritional significance. This study examined the nutrient, antinutrient, phytochemicals contents, and antioxidant potentials of flours of taro corm genotypes to identify the genotypes with superior nutritional value. The flour from taro corms exhibited low moisture (5.25–7.84 %), crude protein (4.03–9.28 %), crude fat (0.160–1.23 %), and crude fiber (2.96–5.06 %) contents, but high total ash (5.30–7.14 %), carbohydrate (81.1–85.4 %), and energy (354–372 kcal/100 g) contents. Potassium (1375–2525 mg/100 g) was the most abundant mineral, while manganese (0.650–13.2 mg/100 g) was the least abundant. Taro genotypes also contained high levels of phosphorus (111–397 mg/100 g), magnesium (269–209 mg/100 g), and calcium (31.7–120 mg/100 g), but low levels of sodium (20.0–30.0 mg/100 g), zinc (17.0–62.0 mg/100 g), and iron (7.31–20.7 mg/100 g). Oxalate, phytate, and condensed tannin contents ranged from 24.3 to 56.7, 6.28 to 28.9, and 57.4–134 mg/100 g, respectively. The total phenolic, flavonoid, β-carotene, and ascorbic acid contents, along with antioxidant properties, varied among the genotypes. Among the taro genotypes, Ac-18, Kihaque, and Ac-5 corms stood out with high protein, total ash, and crude fiber contents, coupled with low condensed tannin and phytate contents, making them the preferred genotypes in terms of their nutritional value.