Nutritional and anti-nutritional composition of anchote (Coccinia abyssinica ((Lam.) Cogn.) accessions in Ethiopia

Anchote is an indigenous tuber crop with a good source of protein and calcium. Despite the presence of different accessions of the crop, little is known about the nutritional and anti-nutritional content. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nutritional and anti-nutritional content of anchote accessions grown in the East Arsi Zone of Ethiopia. Tubers from 20 accessions of anchote were collected from the research farm of Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center in Ethiopia. The dried tubers of each accession were grounded separately into fine powder following standard procedure and used for nutritional and anti-nutritional content determination. Result showed that, the nutritional compositions varied from: water (65.38%–77.13 %), ash (1.82%–2.85 %), crude fat (0.55%–1.45 %), crude fiber (2.22%–4.02 %), crude protein (6.29%–13.00 %), carbohydrate (6.78%–19.68 %), total starch (39.22%–72.74 %), and energy (74.73%–123.66 %). Phytate concentration ranged from 208.06 mg/100 g to 273.87 mg/100 g, while tannin content was recorded at the lowest (1.19 mg/100g) and highest (44.4 mg/100g). Mineral contents were in a range from calcium (66.81–177.13 mg/100g), magnesium (19.64–35.82 mg/100g), potassium (250.47–523.72 mg/100g), sodium (0.51–4.19 mg/100g), phosphorus (38.91–93.45 mg/100g), iron (0.16–0.65 mg/100g), manganese (0.08–0.27 mg/100g), copper (0.17–0.29 mg/100g), and zinc (0.23–0.46 mg/100g). This study showed that anchote tubers contain a significant amount of essential nutrients. Accessions greatly vary in their nutritional and anti-nutrition compositions. Therefore, anchote accessions with higher nutritional values could be used in breeding and food product development targeting nutritional enhancement.