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Flours and starches extracted from the tropical tubers underwent freeze-drying and cooking in comparison with fresh cooking. Freeze-dried and cooked starch (FDS) granules were found to have different shapes and collapsed arrangement whereas freshly cooked starch (FCS) granules had the least varied structures. The freeze-dried flours had larger structures compared to freshly cooked flours. The physicochemical parameters were high in Dioscorea esculenta (DE)-FDS, followed by Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (AP)-FDS and other samples whereas D. alata (DA)-FCS had the lowest, whereas flours followed similar trend. FDS (42.1%) had the highest solubility index and swelling power whereas FCS (11.1%) showed the lowest. The syneresis and light transmittance levels were higher in FDS and FDF. The freeze dried flour and starch showed higher onset (T 0 ), peak (T P ), and conclusion (T C ) temperature than fresh cooked samples. The variations in IR spectra, thermal properties, and crystalline index were termed as differential function of physicochemical characteristics, structural changes that resulted from freeze drying, and cooking treatment employed., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Porang is a potential source of glucomannan. This research objective was to find a direct glucomannan isolation method from fresh porang corm to produce high purity glucomannan. Two isolation methods were performed. In first method, sample was water dissolved using Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 as flocculant for 15 (AA15) or 30 (AA30) minutes with purification. In second method, sample was repeatedly milled using ethanol as solvent and filtered for 5 (EtOH5) or 7 (EtOH7) times without purification. The characteristics of obtained glucomannan were compared to those of commercial porang flour (CPF) and purified konjac glucomannan (PKG). High purity (90.98%), viscosity (27,940 cps) and transparency (57.74%) of amorphous glucomannan were isolated by EtOH7. Ash and protein level significantly reduced to 0.57% and 0.31%, respectively, with no starch content. Water holding capacity (WHC) of EtOH7 glucomannan significantly enhanced, whereas its solubility was lower than those of PKG due to its ungrounded native granular form., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson (Family- Araceae) is a crop of south East Asian origin. In India, its tuber is widely used in ethnomedicinal practices by different tribes for the treatment of piles (hemorrhoids)., Aim: The present study evaluated the effect of methanolic and aqueous extract of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius tuber on croton oil induced hemorrhoids in rats., Materials and Methods: The methanolic extract was standardized with the major phenolic compound, betulinic acid, by HPLC. The hemorrhoids were induced by applying 6% croton oil preparation in the ano-rectal region. Rats were orally administered methanolic and aqueous extract at doses of 250 and 500mg/kg, each for 7 days. Pilex (200mg/kg) was used as reference anti-hemorrhoidal drug. Hemorrhoids were assessed on eighth day by measuring hemorrhoidal and biochemical parameters along with histology of ano-rectal tissue., Results: Croton oil application caused induction of hemorrhoids as indicated by significant (p<0.001) increase in plasma exudation of Evans blue in ano-rectal tissue, macroscopic severity score and ano-rectal coefficient as compared to normal rats. It significantly (p<0.001) elevated lactate dehydrogenase and cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6) levels in serum and increased myeloperoxidase activity and lipid peroxidation in ano-rectal tissue along with marked histological damage as compared to normal rats. Treatment with tuber extracts and pilex significantly (p<0.05-p<0.001) ameliorated Evans blue exudation, hemorrhoidal parameters and other biochemical parameters with attenuation of tissue damage compared to hemorrhoid control rats. The results indicate that tuber extracts exhibited curative action on hemorrhoids. The aqueous extract showed more pronounced effect than methanolic extract. The effects may be attributed to anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties., Conclusion: Results indicate that tuber of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius exhibited curative action on hemorrhoids through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The study validates the ethnomedicinal use of tuber in hemorrhoids and implicates its therapeutic potential as an anti-hemorrhoidal agent., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this study was to assess the properties of resistant starch (RS) III prepared from elephant foot yam starch using pullulanase enzyme. Native and gelatinized starches were subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis (pullulanase, 40 U/g per 10h), autoclaved (121°C/30 min), stored under refrigeration (4°C/24h) and then lyophilized. After preparation of resistant starch III, the morphological, physical, chemical and functional properties were assessed. The enzymatic and retrogradation process increased the yield of resistant starch III from starch with a concomitant increase increase in its water absorption capacity and water solubility index. A decrease in swelling power was observed due to the hydrolysis and thermal process. Te reduced pasting properties and hardness of resistant starch III were associated with the disintegration of starch granules due to the thermal process. The viscosity was found to be inversely proportional to the RS content in the sample. The thermal properties of RS increased due to retrogradation and recrystallization (P<0.05)., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To identify the phytochemical constituents of Amorphophallus campanulatus (A. campanulatus) tuber and to evaluate its antioxidant potential through in vitro and in vivo models., Methods: Phytochemical screening and in vitro antioxidant activities of A. campanulatus tuber n-hexane extract (ACHE) and methanolic extract (ACME) were evaluated using DPPH, hydroxyl radical, reducing power and total antioxidant capacity assays. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were also investigated. The protective potential of two different doses of ACME (125 and 250 mg/kg) was also evaluated against thioacetamide (TAA) induced oxidative stress in rats. Silymarin used as a standard drug control. Hepatotoxicity was assessed by quantifying the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). The antioxidant potential of ACME were also evaluated by the estimation of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), reduced glutathione (GSH) and lipid peroxidation (Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) in hepatic and renal tissues. Histopathologic changes of liver were also evaluated., Results: In vitro studies revealed that ACME has higher antioxidant and radical scavenging activity than ACHE, which may be attributed to its higher phenolic and flavonoid content. ACME significantly prevented the elevation of serum AST, ALT, ALP, LDH, and tissue malondialdehyde levels(P < 0.05). Hepatic and renal GSH, GST, GR, GPx, and catalase levels were remarkably increased by the treatment with the extract. Quantification of histopathological changes also supported the dose dependent protective effects of ACME., Conclusions: The results do suggest that A. campanulatus tuber could be considered as a potential source of natural antioxidant., (Copyright © 2011 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The effect of high-frequency oscillatory type ball-mill treatment on the structure and antiobesity activity of konjac flour was investigated. The grain size of konjac flour changed from 657.3 microm (d(50)) to 23.7 microm (d(50)) after 4 h of treatment. The structural change of the konjac flour with different grain size was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results indicated that the crystallinity decreased and the diffraction peak drifted not only by when the crystallization region was reduced but also when the crystalline structure was changed. With the decrease of the grain size and crystallinity, the konjac flour grain, especially the 4 h milled konjac flour, swelled more rapidly and led to the improvement of the antiobesity effect. Compared with the native konjac flour, the 4 h milled konjac flour could significantly decrease the body weight and total wet weight of fat of nutritional obese rats (P < 0.05) and also decreased the contents of triglyceride, glucose, and high-density lipoprotein in blood of nutritional obese rat significantly (P < 0.05), which meant the grain-size effect of konjac flour improved its antiobesity activity notably.

The methanol extract of Amorphophallus campanulatus tuber, given orally at the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg, showed significant analgesic activity in mice.