## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Biochemical Composition of the Yam Genotypes  
Table 1 summarizes the biochemical composition of the yam samples comprising 58 genotypes of water and 7 white yams. Dry matter (DM), starch, sugar, protein, crude fiber (CF), fat, and amylose ranged from 20.35 to 35.95 g/100 g, 42.81 to 83.31 g/100 g, 4.76 to 6.95 g/100 g, 4.33 to 6.62 g/100 g, 1.55 to 3.89 g/100 g, 0.32 to 0.53 g/100 g, and 29.27 to 38.52 g/100 g, respectively. The mean values (\(\pm\)SD) were found to be 29.85 \(\pm\) 4.0 g/100 g (DM), 67.90 \(\pm\) 44 g/100 g (starch), 5.82 \(\pm\) 0.64 g/100 g (sugar), 6.31 \(\pm\) 1.31 g/100 g (protein), 2.14 \(\pm\) 0.57 g/100 g (crude fiber), 0.44 \(\pm\) 0.08 (fat), and 33 \(\pm\) 16.43 g/100 g (amylose). The biochemical composition of _Dioscorea_ spp. is important in determining their food quality; this includes the moisture content, which indicates the water activity or storage stability [25]. Moisture content is determined by subtracting the DM from 100. Higher moisture content translates to high susceptibility to microbial actions and low shelf life. Water yam contains considerably more water than white yam. The dry matter content of 29.85 g/100 g is comparable to the average of 33.00 g/100 g reported by [26]. The authors also recorded fat, protein, and fiber content of 1.0 g/100 g, 8.7 g/100 g, and 1.4 g/100 g, slightly higher than the values of 0.44 g/100 g and 6.31 g/100 g obtained in the current study. Still, the fiber content obtained in this study is less than the 2.4 g/100 g obtained by [26]. This slight difference could be due to different planting locations and seasonal changes. Water yam cultivars in Ghana have significantly higher protein levels but lower dry matter and starch content than the white yam genotype [27]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline  & **Dry Matter** & **Starch** & **Sugar** & **Amylose** & **Protein** & **Fat** & **Crude Fiber** \\ \hline Water yams (n = 58) Minimum & 20.35 & 42.81 & 4.76 & 29.27 & 4.33 & 0.32 & 1.55 \\ Maximum & 35.95 & 83.81 & 6.49 & 38.52 & 8.62 & 0.53 & 3.89 \\ Mean & 29.85 & 67.90 & 5.82 & 33.16 & 6.31 & 0.44 & 2.14 \\ Standard deviation & 4.00 & 13.07 & 0.64 & 2.43 & 1.31 & 0.08 & 0.57 \\ \hline White yams (n = 7) Minimum & 29.70 & 42.81 & 4.46 & 31.38 & 4.33 & 0.32 & 1.65 \\ Maximum & 41.00 & 64.28 & 5.43 & 38.52 & 6.83 & 0.37 & 2.52 \\ Mean & 32.43 & 54.00 & 5.12 & 34.48 & 5.12 & 0.34 & 1.87 \\ Standard deviation & 3.80 & 9.57 & 0.26 & 2.48 & 0.75 & 0.02 & 0.27 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Descriptive statistics of biochemical composition of water and white yam (g/100g). Also, in this study, the water yam genotype (TDa1401270) has the highest value of 8.62 g/100 g for protein, while the minimum protein content was reported in white yam (TDr 1100490). [PERSON] et al. (2015) reported a range of 4.10 to 11.00 g/100 g, 26.70 to 32.30 g/100 g, and 60.30 to 74.40 g/100 g for protein, amylose, and starch content for water yam. The maximum starch content of 83.81 g/100 g reported for water yam in the current study is higher than that previously reported ([PERSON], 2015; [PERSON], 2015). Starch is a major component of the water yam tuber and can represent up to 85% dry weight ([PERSON], 2015). It impacts the textural qualities of yam food products ([PERSON], 2015). A range of 21.69 to 31.56 g/100 g has previously been reported for amylose in water yam, with Pona, a popular white yam genotype in Ghana, having a value of 27.36 g/100 g. In the current study, a prominent genotype of white yam in Nigeria (Meccakusa) has an amylose content of 38.52 g/100 g, which shows a higher amylose content than Pona in Ghana. [PERSON] et al. (2019) reported an average of 20.60 \(\pm\) 0.18 g/100 g and 69.41 \(\pm\) 0.54 g/100 g for amylose and starch in water yam. These values agree with this study's findings for amylose and starch contents. Amongst the water yam in this study, TDa1100414 and TDa1100193 have a comparably high amylose content of 35.70 and 37.65 g/100 g to the control (Meccakusa).