The potency of gadung (Dioscorea hispida Dennst.) tuber as a functional food: Toxicity, phytochemical content and starch characters

• Main Authors: Nugroho, Laurentius Hartanto, Estyaniyana, Anna
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkaloids; Chloroform; Flavonoids; Food; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Lethality; Nutrition; Phytochemicals; Reagents; Saline water; Terpenes; Thin layer chromatography; Toxicity testing
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/1.5050133

Nowadays people realize that the function of food does not only provide the basic nutrition need. The food should play a role in reducing or minimizing the risk of certain diseases and other health conditions. Gadung (Dioscorea hispida Dennst.) known as a yam (Internationally) is used as an alternative food and a medicinal material at some places in Indonesia. Moreover, gadung is used as a repellant of rice bug (Leptocorisa oratorius F.) in Timor Island. The research aimed to know the toxicity, phytochemical contents and starch characters of gadung tuber collected from Timor Leste, Kalimantan Tengah, and Special Region of Yogyakarta. Dry tubers were prepared for toxicity, and phytochemical contents analyses and fresh tuber were used to observe the character of gadung starch. Tubers were extracted by soxhlet apparatus using chloroform and methanol. The toxicity of gadung tuber was done using Brine Shrimp Lethality Test (BSLT). Effect of toxicity from each extract was identified with the percentage of death larva and counted by probit analysis (LC50). Furthermore, the content of alkaloid, flavonoid, terpenoid of gadung tuber extract was detected using spray Reagents on Thin Layer Chromatography spots. The starch characters were observed using a microscope. The results revealed that the highest toxicity was shown by chloroform extract of gadung accession Timor Leste with the LC50 was 16.9 µg · mL−1. Extract of three accessions contained alkaloids, flavonoids and terpenoids. Three accessions had same characters of starch grain, which were round shape and aggregated of each grain. Among the three accessions, Yogyakarta accession presented the biggest size of starch diameters and more number of aggregate in each parenchyma cell.