Dynamic Changes of the Contents of Calcium,Zinc and Phytate in the Rhizomes of Dioscorea zingiberensis C.H.Wright

Contents of calcium,zinc and phytate were important indexes that reflects the nutrition value of the corps.In this study,rhizomes of biennial plants of Dioscorea zingiberensis C.H.Wright were used as study material,contents of calcium,zinc and phytate were determined and their relationships were analyzed in different growing periods.The results indicated the following averages of contents:Calcium-424.24 mg/100 g;Zinc-12.73 mg/100 g dry weigt;and Phytate-4460.19 mg/100 g dry weight in the rhizomes of D.zingiberensis.The bioavailability of calcium and zinc were low due to the phytate in the rhizomes.The average content of starch in rhizomes was 32.84 g/100 g dry weight;the strongest reducing power was 0.931;the highest level of free radical scavenging effect was 22.83%;those showed a certain degree of antioxidant capacity.All these results revealed that the rhizomes of D.zingiberensis were nutritious and healthy to human beings.