Genotype and Fertilization Effects on Trypsin Inhibitor Activity in Sweetpotato

Abstract

Sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] is intensively used as an animal feed in many developing countries. Information about trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA), an antinutritional component in this crop, will be useful for breeding sweetpotato as animal feed. Nine sweetpotato lines were grown at two locations and fertilized or nonfertilized conditions at each location. Samples were analyzed for TIA using a substrate-specific colorimetric method. Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seeds were used to compare the levels of TIA in sweetpotato and soybean. Activity in roots ranged from 29.5 to 55.0 units in the nine lines. The mean TIA in roots was 40.7 units averaged over lines and environments, which was ≈28% of the mean for the five soybean cultivars. Activity in sweetpotato vines was only ≈14.6% of that in the roots, and TIA in fertilized plots was 150% and 67% higher than that in nonfertilized plots in the two locations, respectively. There was a small but significant positive correlation between TIA and crude protein in roots. These results suggested that TIA in sweetpotato storage roots may be high enough to have a substantial nutritional impact on animals, whereas TIA in vines is very low and should be of less nutritional concern.