Caracterização de compostos químicos do inhame-roxo (Dioscorea trifida) e do inhame-branco (Dioscorea alata)

Abstract

Yam, belonging to the genus Dioscorea spp., is a tuber that is easy to cultivate, being cultivated mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. Among which, the purple yam (Dioscorea trifida), also known as purple yam in Brazil, and the white yam (Dioscorea alata) stand out, which are the main species cultivated in Brazil. Despite the great medicinal and nutritional contribution that is already known, yam is culturally undervalued, with government agencies giving little or no importance to the consumption of this tuber in Brazil. This present work aims to investigate the chemical composition of two species of yam, D. trifida and D. alata, focusing on the polar compounds present in these tubers. Extractions occurred based on the solubility of polar compounds using Ethanol/Water 30:70 (v/v) slightly acidified with 0.001% hydrochloric acid (v/v) and were subsequently analyzed on an Ultra-Efficient Liquid Chromatograph coupled to a Mass Spectrometer and Detector of Diode Array (UPLC-QDa-MS). It was possible to detect the presence of a total of 13 substances, of which 7 were identified using the spectra obtained combined with the literature, and the D. trifida sample with the highest color intensity (RM) was the one with the most substances identified. Therefore, considering the proven virtues in relation to the consumption of this tuber, it is worth highlighting the importance of conducting more studies in this area.