FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF WILD YAM (Dioscorea spp.)

Abstract

Samples of wild yam tubers (Dioscorea alata, D. bulbifera var. vera, D. esculenta, D. oppositifolia var. dukhumensis, D.oppositifolia var. oppositifolia, D. pentaphylla var. pentaphylla, D. spicata, D. tomentosa and D. wallichi) were analyzed for its fatty acid composition. Linoleic acid was found to be predominant among all the investigated Dioscorea spp. which ranged from 26.3 – 33.21% .Thus, the present investigation demonstrate that, the Dioscorea spp. act as a good source of fatty acid.