Abstract
Among members of the genus Amorphophallus in Indonesia, Amorphophallus muelleri produces the highest amounts of glucomannan, which is a fiber carbohydrate that plays a significant role in controlling obesity and type 2 diabetes. Glucomannan in A. muelleri is stored in the tubers. Several internal and external factors affect the glucomannan content of the tubers. In this study, we only investigated the internal factors seeding material and tuber. The objectives were: (i) to investigate the effect of the seeding material on tuber glucomannan levels; and (ii) to assess the influence of the storage period and the tuber part on glucomannan contents. Glucomannan was extracted via centrifugation. The result showed that tubers, which yielded from the center bulbis, have slightly higher glucomannan content than tubers from side bulbis, even though insignificant. Our results indicate significant glucomannan losses at storage times of more than 3 months. Levels decreased by 90% after storage over 3.75 months since shoot collapse. Glucomannan levels of the central and the edge parts of the tubers did not differ significantly.
Highlights
Amorphophallus muelleri or porang is a plant native to Indonesia, and 23 species of the genus Amorphophallus occur in the country
Amorphophallus muelleri is well known as a significant source of glucomannan, which is used in the control of obesity and diabetes type 2,1 lowers total cholestein and starch and increased vitamin C and A levels in sweet potato stored for 5 months, while short-term storage (15 days) of taro tubers did not alter the quality of the tubers in terms of ash content, coarse fat content, crude protein content, and coarse fiber content.[11]
Plants growing from the main bulbil had taller petioles than those obtained from side bulbils (Table 1)
Summary
Amorphophallus muelleri or porang is a plant native to Indonesia, and 23 species of the genus Amorphophallus occur in the country. From a biological point of view, the actual size of the cells in a tuber varies, as mentioned in Takigami et al.’s research.[12] The author stated that cells in the periphery zone of A. konjac tubers were smaller than those in the center.[12] By staining A. konjac tuber tissues, Zhao et al.[13] recognized a translucent sac structure with a size of 0.25-0.70 mm, which is more than 510 times larger than ordinary cells This sac structure is called the glucomannan idioblast,[14] and its distribution differs between the edge and the center of the tubers. In the same age range, the size and weight of the bulbil from the main stem differed from that from the branching stem
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