Habtamu Fekadu, Fekadu Beyene and Gullelat Desse
The raw and traditionally processed Anchote (Coccinia abyssinica (Lam.) Cogn.) tubers were studied and compared for their nutritional composition: moisture, crude protein, total ash, crude fiber, crude fat, utilized carbohydrate and gross energy; minerals: Ca, Fe, Mg, Zn, and P and antinutritional factors: phytate, oxalate, tannin and cyanide. Sensory preference taste of Anchote boiled after peeling and boiled before peeling was also reported. The raw, boiled after peeling and boiled before peeling Anchote tubers had respective contents (g/100g) of moisture 74.93, 81.74, and 76.73; for crude protein contents were 3.25, 2.67 and 3.14; for total ash contents were 2.19, 1.33, and 1.99; for crude fiber contents were 2.58, 3.71, and 2.77; for crude fat contents were 0.19, 0.13, and 0.14; for utilized carbohydrate contents were 16.86, 10.42 and 15.23; for gross energy contents were 82.12, 53.48 and 75.26. The raw, boiled after peeling and boiled before peeling Anchote tubers had respective contents (mg/100g) of Ca 119.50, 115.70, and 118.20; for Fe contents were 5.49, 7.60, and 6.60; for Mg contents were 79.73, 73.50, and 76.47; for Zn contents were 2.23, 2.03, and 2.20; and for P contents were 34.61, 28.12, 25.45. The raw, boiled after peeling and boiled before peeling Anchote tubers had respective contents (mg/100g) of phytate 389.30, 333.63 and 334.74; for oxalate contents were 8.23, 4.23, and 4.66; for tannin contents were 173.55, 102.36 and 121.21; for cyanide contents were 12.67, 8.16 and 11.14. This study also revealed that, there was significant (P<0.05) taste preference of Anchote boiled before peeling to Anchote tubers boiled after peeling, in which 66% of consumers gave priority of the preference taste for Anchote boiled before peeling.