Although cultivated primarily for their starch content, the nutritional and
functional properties of tare [Colocasia esculenta (L,) Schott] corms can
be modified by the presence of non-starch polysaccharides. Twelve varieties
from the Philippines, 14 varieties from the Solomon Islands, and 3 varieti
es from Hong Kong were assessed for their polysaccharide content other than
starch. Several non-starch polysaccharides were present and a major fracti
on was the watersoluble arabinogalactan proteoglycan. Monosaccharide analys
is of the whole flour from the corms also indicated the presence of xylose
and mannose indicative of the presence of xyloglucan and glucomannans. High
levels of arabinogalactan contributed to the mucilaginous character of tar
e corms. The functional consequences of the xyloglucan and glucomannan frac
tions were not established xyloglucan and presence and are currently under
investigation.