WORLD JOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES

S. Anbuselvi et al.

World Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Volume 3, Issue 3, 1440-1449.

Research Article

ISSN 2278 4357

PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTINUTRIENT CONSTITUENTS OF

CASSAVA AND SWEET POTATO
S. Anbuselvi and T.Balamurugan
Department of Industrial Biotechnology, Bharath University, Chennai-73.

Article Received on
01 January 2014,
Revised on 05 February
2014,
Accepted on 05 March 2014

ABSTRACT
Manihot esculenta and Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam., are major industrial
crop in Tamil nadu which are rich in antioxidants and lot of therapeutic
application. The phytochemical components suchasalkaloids, saponin,
tannins, steroids, anthocyanins, flavonoids and anthroquinones and

*Correspondence for Author

biochemical constituents were extracted using different solvents

S. Anbuselvi
Department of Industrial

namely ethylacetate, methanol, chloroform and acetone. Specific

Biotechnology, Bharath

antinutrients are extracted more in methanol and ethyl acetate solvents

University, Chennai, India.

other than ethanolic extract. The oxalate and trypsin inhibitors were
highly observed in sweet potato. Phytate was found to be 235mg/100g

of cassava. Cyanogenic glycosides and phlobatanins were only present in cassava and
coumarin was extracted in sweet potato.
Keywords: sweet potato, cassava, antinutrients, phytochemicals.
INTRODUCTION
Cassava is the common name for a tapioca tuber crop Mani hot esculenta, it is an important
source of starch, cassava is of major stable and root crop in tropics. It ranks as the 6th most
important source of energy in human diets on a worldwide basis and as the 4th supplier of
energy after rice, sugar, and corn/maize1. It tolerates drought and low fertility and a
nutritionally strategic famine reserve crop in areas of unreliable rainfall, poor soil or
unfavorable climate.Cassava contains highly toxic cyanogen compounds and antinutrients.
Cyanogens are existing in 3 forms in cassava: cyanogenic glucoside (95% linamarin and 5%
lotaustratin), cyanohydrins, and free cyanide2. Cassava leaves are a valuable source of
protein, minerals, and vitamins. Cassava leaves are rich in iron, zinc, manganese, magnesium,
and calcium; vitamins B1, B2, and C; and carotenoids3,4,5 .Oxalates are antinutrients that
negatively affect calcium and magnesium bioavailability6 It can bind calcium and be excreted
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through the urine or form crystals. The oxalate concentrations of cassava leaf meals range
from 1.35 to 2.88 g/100 g DW7
Cassava also contains antinutrients, such as phytate, fiber, nitrate, polyphenols, oxalate, and
saponins that can reduce nutrient bioavailability. However, some of these compounds can
also act as anticarcinogens and antioxidants depending on the amount ingested. This review
describes traditional processing techniques used to reduce cassava toxicity and selected
antinutrients .Phytate interferes with the absorption of divalent metals, such as iron and zinc,
which are essential nutrients. The aqueous and ethanolic extracts of raw cassava tuber contain
alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and anthocyanosides, anthraquinone, phlobatinnins and
saponins. but do not contain cardiac glycosides. The cassava leaves contain lot of
antinutrients, such as tannins, oxalate, phytate and trypsin inhibitors8. Cassava leaves are
nutritious but it contains more antinutrients that cause toxicity9 .
Sweet potato( Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.,) has played an important role as an energy and a
phytochemical source in human nutrition and animal feeding. Ethnopharmacological data
show that sweetpotato leaves have been effectively used in herbal medicine to treat
inflammatory infections and oral diseases. This tuberous root is a rich source of
carbohydrates, dietary fiber, vitamin A (as -carotene), vitamin B6, vitamin C, manganese,
copper, potassium, and iron10. Recently, studies on sweet potato have focused on its
antioxidant capacities due to the increased content of phenols, flavonoids, -carotene,
anthocyanins, and caffeoylquinic acid derivatives11. Other reports have reported its medicinal
use, specifically its antidiabetic and antiviral properties.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sweetpotato and cassava leaves were collected from the field. 500g of dried form of sweet
potato leaves and cassava leaves were pulverized using a electric blender. The aqueous
extract of sweet potato tuber and cassava samples were prepared by soaking 100g in 200ml of
different solvents namely acetone,chloroform, methanol and ethylacetate. The extraction was
performed for a period of 24 hours. The crude extract was subjected to centrifugation at
10,000 rpm and supernatant was used to analyze the anti-nutritive content of tuber.
Test for alkaloids
The extract was dissolved in 2N Hydrochloric acid. The mixture was filtered and the filtrate
was divided into three equal portions .First portion was mixed with a few drops of Mayers

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reagent to form cream precipitate. Second portion was treated with equal amount of
Dragondroff reagent to get orange precipitate and final portion was mixed with equal amount
of Wagners reagent to form a brown precipitate. All the three tests confirmed the presence of
alkaloids 12
Test for saponins
About 0.5ml of extract was mixed with distilled water and shaken well vigorously. Frothing
was indicated the evidence of saponins
Test for tannins
0.5 ml of extract was dissolved in 10ml of distilled water and filtered. To the filtrate,
Test for steroids
To the 2ml of extract and 2ml of acetic anhydride, 2ml of sulphuric acid was added.
The Appearance of green color indicates the presence of steroids
Test for reducing sugars
To the 2 ml of the extract , 1 ml of benedicts reagent was added and heated for few minutes.
Appearance of brick red color indicates the presence of reducing sugar.
Test for protein
To the 2 ml of the extract , 1 ml of biuret reagent reagent was added. Appearance of purple
color indicates the presence of reducing sugar.
Test for flavonoids
2ml of extract was treated with 1.5 ml of 50% methanol solution and heated. To this solution
magnesium and few drops of concentrated hydrochloric acid were added. The red color was
observed for flavonoids and orange for flavones13.
Test for anthocyanin
1 ml of filtrate was mixed with 5ml of dilute hydrochloric acid. The appearance of pale pink
color shows the presence of anthocyanin.
Test for anthraquinones
0.5 ml of extract was dissolved in 5ml of chloroform and shaken well for 5 minutes. The
extract was filtered. To this filtrate, added equal volume of 10% ammonia solution. A pink

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violet or red color in ammonical layer indicates the presence of anthraquinones

(Harborne,1998).
Test for phenolic flavonoids
1 ml of filtrate was mixed with 2ml of 10% lead acetate to form brown color which
confirmed the presence of phenolic flavonoids.
Test for ascorbic acid
0.1 ml of brominated sample extract was added with 2.9 ml of distilled water. 1 ml of 2%
DNPH reagent and 1-2 drops of thiourea were added and incubated at 37C for 3 hours . The
Red osazone crystals were dissolved in 7 ml of 80% sulphuric acid and kept for 5 minutes.
The red color indicate the presence of ascorbic acid
Test for cardiac glycosides
0.2 g of extract was dissolved in 1 ml of glacial acetic acid containing 1 drop of 1% ferric
chloride solution. This was then under layered with 1ml of concentrated sulphuric acid. A
brown colored ring was interfaced which showed a characteristic nature of cardiac
glycosides.
Test for tri-terphenoids
To the 5 ml of the extract, 2ml of chloroform was added. Concentrated sulphuric acid was
added along the sides of the test tubes. Reddish brown ring was observed between the two
layers.
Test for coumain
Fluorescence was detected by the UV test (365 nm) for ethyl acetate extract of sweet potato
which indicated the presence of coumarins.
The cyanogenic glycosides was determined by alkaline pictrate method of Oke(1969). 5g of
dried samples of these leaves were weighed and dissolved in 50 ml of distilled water in
corked conical flasks. The mixtures were allowed to stay overnight and then filtered. To 1ml
of sample was taken in a test tube added 4ml of alkaline pictrate and heated in a waterbath for
15 minutes. The absorbance of color intensity was measured at 490nm in a spectrophotometer
compared with standard cyanide solution.

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Trypsin inhibitor present in tubers were analyzed by methodology of kakade et.al(1971).0.2 g

of sample was taken in a screw cap centrifuge tube dissolved with 0.1 M phosphate buffer
and centrifuged at 5000 rpm for 5 min and filtered through Whatman No 42 filterpaper. The
volume of the filtrate was made upto 2ml with phosphate buffer. The test tubes were kept in a
water bath at 37 C.2ml of casein was added and incubated for 20 min. The reaction was
stopped by adding 6ml of TCA solution. TCA solution served as a blank. The absorbance
was read in spectrophotometer at 280nm and its concentration can be calculated using
standard trypsin14.
2 g of sweet potato and cassava leaves samples were weighed and soaked in 100 ml of 2%
hydrochloric acid for 3 hours and then filtered through a double layer thick filterpapers. 50
ml of each filtrate was made upto 150ml with distilled water.10 ml of ammonium thiocyanate
solution was added as indicator. Each solution was titrated against standard iron chloride
solution which contain 0.001 95 g of iron per ml. The end point was slightly brownish yellow
ether conthich persists for 5min.The phytate in cassava and Chinese potato were calculated15.
For tannin aanalysis.400 mg of samples were placed into two conical flasks. 40 ml of diethyl
ether containing 1%acetic acid was added and centrifuged to remove the pigments. To
precipitate was dissolved in20ml of 70% acetone. The flasks were sealed with cotton plug
covered with aluminium foil, then kept in a shaker for 2 hours. Each content in then flask was
filtered through whatman filerpaper.0.5 ml o the filtrate was made upto 1ml with distilled
water.0.5 ml o folin ciocalteau reagent was added and mixed with 2.5 ml of 20% sodium
carbonate solution was added and mixed. The mixtures were kept for 40 min at room
temperature. The absorbance was measured by spectrophotometer using tannins as standard15,
1993).
1 g of sample was dissolved in 190ml of distilled water. 10 ml of 6 M hydrochloric acid and
warmed in waterbath at 90 C for 4 hours and subjected to centrifugation at a speed of 2000
rpm for 5 min. The supernatant was diluted and evaporated. The brown precipitate was
filtered off and titrated with ammonia solution until salmon pink color of methyl orange
changed to faint yellow. The solutions were heated at 90 C and the oxalate was precipitated
with 10 ml of 5% calcium chloride solution. The solutions were allowed to stand overnight
then centrifuged. Each precipitate was washed with 25% sulphuric acid , diluted to 125 ml
and warmed at 90C. It was titrated against 0.05 M potassium permanganate16.

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Table1 Biochemical and anti-Nutritional constituents of sweetpotato plant

Sl.No

Phytochemicals

Methanolic
extract

1.
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

Alkaloids
Saponins
Tannins
Steroids
Anthocyanines
Flavonoids
Anthraquinones
Phenolic flavonoids
Ascorbic acid
Cardiac glycosides
Tri-terpenoids
Coumarin
Reducing sugar
Proteins

+++
+++
+
++
++
+++
+
+

Chloroform
extract

Ethyl
Acetate
extract

Acetone
extract

+
+++
++
+
++
_
+++
++
++

+++
+
++
+
++
+++
++
+
+
++
++
+

+
_
+
_
+
+
+
+
_
+
++
+

Table2 Biochemical and Anti-Nutritional constituents of cassava plant

Sl.No

Phytochemicals

Ethyl
acetate
extract

+1.
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

Alkaloids
Saponins
Tannins
Steroids
Anthocyanines
Flavonoids
Anthraquinones
Phenolic flavonoids
Ascorbic acid
Cardiac glycosides
Tri-terpenoids
Phlobatannins
Reducing sugars
Proteins

+++
+
+++
+++
+++
+
+
+
++
+
++
++
+

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Methanolic
extract

Acetone
extract

Chloroform
extract

+++
+++
+
++
++
_
+++
+
+

++
++
+
++
+
+
+
++
+
++

+
+
+
+
++
+
+
++
+++
++
++

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mg/100g

S. Anbuselvi et al.

250
200
150
100
50
0

Figure 1 Comparative antinutritive constituents of sweetpotato and cassava

The anti-nutritive components of `sweet potato and cassava leaves were qualitatively
analyzed in Table 1 and 2. Alkaloids are a diverse group of secondary metabolites, shows
antimicrobial activity by inhibiting DNA topoisomerase17 An indole-type alkaloid called
ipomine A was found for tuberous roots of sweetpotato. Alkaloids were extracted in sweet
potato and cassava using different solvents.. The maximum concentration was present in
methanolic extract and ethyl acetate extract. Saponins are present in plants having
anticarcinogenic property18 It was absent in chloroform,methanolic and acetone extracts of
cassava leaves.. Saponins were only identified in sweet potato and exist in tubers as triterpene
saponins19.
Tannin is one of the important secondary metabolite which reduces the risk of coronary heart
diseases. Tannin was only observed in ethyl acetate extract of tubers. It was found to be
highly observed in ethylacetate extract of cassava and sweet potato. Steroids play a
significant role of anti inflammatory and analgesic agents. It was slightly observed only in
ethylacetate extract.
Anthocyanins were found to be high in chloroform extract of sweet potato and moderately
present in ethylacetate extract. Cassava leaves showed maximum amount present in methanol
when compared with ethyl acetate and chloroform. Suresh et.al reported that methanol
preserves the extracted anthocyanin in their original form. It should be solvent of choice for
quantitation and analysis of anthocyanins.Anthocyanins are potential therapeutic role of
cardiovascular diseases, cancer, AIDS, nerve disorders and behavioural disorders(Froytlog),
.This can be useful in controlling oxidative stress during pregnancies.

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Anthraquinones were absent in all samples except very trace amount in ethyl acetate extract.
However, little data have been suggested for the presence of this particular secondary
metabolite in leaves of Ipomoea spp. There are many natural antioxidants present in different
parts of plants in the form of phenolic compounds such as flavonoids,phenolic acid and
tocopherols. These compounds are potential antioxidants and free radical scavengers21.
Phenolic flavanoids and were moderately present in methanol extract of sweet potato and
cassava . A higher content of phenolic acids were found in Sweet potato leaves as compared
with those of major commercial leafy vegetables .Flavonoids were identified in different
extracts of sweet potato and cassava. But it was highly observed in ethylacetate extract.
Cardiac glycosides were moderately occurring in chloroform extract of cassava.Cadiac
glycosides were absent in sweet potato.
Terpenoids were found to be high in methanolic, chloroform extract and very little amount in
ethylacetate extract of these tubers. Phlobatannins are rarely present in ethyl acetate extract
which shows diuretic property. Ascorbic acid was found to be present more in methanolic
extract and moderately observed in chloroform extract. Coumarins from Ipomoea spp.,were
isolated and characterized two coumarins (umbelliferone and scopoletin) in aerial parts of I.
cairica (L.) sweet.21. This compound was only found in ethylacetate extract of sweet potato.
The antinutritional constituent such as trypsin inhibitor was found to be172 mg/100g of
sweetpotato and trace amount of 1.6 mg in cassava leaves(Fig 1).The high amount of oxalate
was observed in sweet potato (163 mg/100g) and 38 mg/100g in cassava leaves. The phytate
content was highly observed ( 235mg/100g) in cassava than sweetpotato(1.05 mg/100g). The
sweet potato showed maximum amount of anthocyanin (4.4mg/100g) when compared with
cassava.
CONCLUSION
This study represents the phytochemicals and antinutrient constituents of cassava and sweet
potato using different solvents namely ethyl acetate, chloroform, methanol and acetone. The
maximum amount of antinutrients and phytochemicals were observed in ethylactate extracts.
Cyanogenic glycosides were identified in cassava and coumarin was present in sweet potato.
The leaves are used as a animal feed and dumped as a manure. These leaves contain lot of
medicinal property and these compounds can be used for pharma industry.

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