Determination of Glucose Distribution of Potato Tuber Using Blood Glucose Meter and Its Application to Estimate Processing Quality

Abstract

Abstract:In an effort to investigate special distribution of glucose content of potato tuber of a cultivar 'Superior' after harvest, a whole tuber was longitudinally cut into halves and cut-surface was divided into 11 regions. Approximate glucose concentration of each section was determined using a commercial blood glucose meter. Higher level of glucose was detected in the outer layers of tissue than inner part of tuber although there were lower coefficients of variation value, 37.4% and 34.1% among individual tubers and among defined sections, respectively. A positive correlation between the whole tuber and individual section was existed in glucose content, where the central pith tissue gave the highest coefficient (r = 0.921) and bud end tissue did the lowest (r = 0.544). Glucose content of the tubers stored for 4 months at 2.0°C was 5.5 fold higher compared to the tubers kept in ambient temperature. The chip color of the former tubers was much brighter than those of the latter tubers. The result obtained in the present study suggests that the blood glucose meter can be used to a rapid and simple evaluation of glucose content and therein be applied to estimate the processing quality of potato tubers during postharvest handling.