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Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the nutrient and antinutrient content of two improved sweet potato varieties released for drought prone areas of eastern Ethiopia. Design/methodology/approach Matured roots of two sweet potato varieties, namely, Berkume and Adu , were collected from Haramaya University, Toni Research Farm, Ethiopia. The sweet potatoes were ground into flour following standard procedure. Thereafter, proximate, dietary minerals and β -carotene were determined by official methods of analysis. The tannin and phytate contents were determined by colorimetric methods. Findings The moisture, protein, fat, fiber, ash, utilizable carbohydrate and gross energy varied from 6.23-6.61 per cent, 2.07-2.76 per cent, 1.25-1.52 per cent, 1.04-1.16 per cent, 3.38- 5.32 per cent, 90.03-91.45 per cent and 382.18-388.07 Kcal/100 g in both the sweet potato varieties. Potassium content (176.17 mg/100 g) was reported to be the highest and registered in Berkume variety, while the lowest mineral content (2.18 mg/100 g) determined was zinc in Adu sweet potato variety. The highest total carotenoid content (3.39mg/100 g) was recorded in Berkume sweet potato variety. The tannin and phytic acid contents ranged from 9.98 to 12.94 mg/100 g and from 0.24 to 0.31 mg/100 g in Berkume and Adu sweet potato varieties, respectively. Originality/value This study showed that the Berkume sweet potato variety has high nutritional potential and less antinutrient contents as compared with the nutritional value of many other roots and tuber crops documented in the FAO database and hence can contribute to reducing malnutrition in resource-poor settings of Ethiopia. Further work needs to be carried out on developing value-added products from Berkume sweet potato variety for its extensive utilization.
Mitiku et al. (Thu,) studied this question.