Assessment on the Polysaccharide Content of Germplasm of Chinese Yam in Fujian Province

The polysaccharide content of 61 germplasms of Chinese yam in Fujian Province was tested by Phenyl hydrate-Sulfuric acid, based on the polysaccharide content of germplasm of Chinese yam by cluster analysis with DPS.Among 61 germplasms of Chinese yam in Fujian Province, the polysaccharide content ranges from 0.7288%to 8.6377% with the average of 2.4477%and the range of 7.9089%.The 61 germplasms of Chinese yam in Fujian Province were divided into three groups according to the polysaccharide content by Unweight Pair-group Method, including the high, the medium, and the low group.By analyzing the mainly statistical parameter of the high, medium and low groups of germplasm of Chinese yam, the results indicated that their variable coefficients were1.57%, 5.85% and 5.59% respectively, and there were relatively plentiful variation of polysaccharide content among the medium and low groups.As dioscorea persimilis Prain et Burkill and dioscorea alata L were found to be distributed in all the three groups, we speculated that there was no direct relationship between the polysaccharide content of Chinese yam and their types.