Determination of boron, fat, gross heat of combustion and protein of gabi-starch

In this study, starch was extracted from two varieties of taro: namely, gabi Makati (Alocasia machorchiza) and San Fernando gabi (Alocasia hemorphylla). Both varieties yielded a considerable amount of starch. The protein content of taro was determined using the Kjeldahl method. It was found out that both varieties contain a very minute amount of protein. The fat content was determined using the Sohxlet method. The solvent used for the extraction of fat was petroleum ether. Results showed that the fat content of taro starch is low. The gross heat of combustion was determined using the bomb calorimeter. The results obtained showed that gabi-starch can supply a lot of energy which can be of use for man\u27s daily activities. Determination of boron utilized the UV-VIS spectrophotometric method using the car mine reagent as the complexing agent. The boron content of each variety was found to be very low when compared to the lethal dosage in man