Effect of tuber sections and processing conditions on the physicochemical properties of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. (Lam)) flour

Abstract Objective The study was conducted to ascertain the effect of tuber sections, heat treatment, and rehydration with process chemicals of varying concentrations on the physicochemical properties of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. (Lam)) flour. Materials and Methods The flour samples were generated as raw, boiled, and steamed from the head, middle, and tail sections of the tuber. These were compared with their whole tuber counterpart. The magnitude and extent of the factorial influence were measured using the effects on swelling index (SI), water absorption capacity (WAC), oil absorption capacity, total soluble solids (TSS), blue value index (BVI), gelling point temperature (GPT), boiling point temperature (BPT), and pH. Results The results obtained showed that the proximate composition from the tuber sections and the whole did not differ significantly (P < 0.05). The tuber processing method (TPM) and tuber processing duration (TPD) effected significant differences (P < 0.05) in all the test parameter except for pH respectively. Conclusion From the investigation, it was observed that the test variables have significant effects on the physicochemical properties of the sweet potato flour.