White Guinea yam (Dioscorea rotundata) ‘ehuru’ consumed in Ibarapa Local Government Area of Oyo State, South West region of Nigeria has been claimed to be responsible for the high incidence of multiple births in the area. This study assessed the proximate and anti-nutrient composition of yam diets in the form in which they are consumed as a baseline towards the evaluation of their effects on the prevalence of multiple births in experimental animals. The yams were harvested and purchased from local farmers and transported to the University of Calabar. The yams were prepared as boiled yam (BY), Pounded Yam, Soup and Stew (PYSS), Boiled Yam and Stew (BYS) and Fried Yam and Stew (FYS) and Boiled yam with Rat Chow (BYPo). The soup was prepared using the tender leaves of okro (Abelmuschus esculentus) known locally as "Ilasa". The samples were homogenized, pelleted, dried in an air oven at 55oC for 24 hours, milled and analyzed in triplicates using standard procedures. Results of proximate composition showed crude protein ranging from 6.53±0.11%DM for boiled yam to 17.13±0.05%DM for PYSS, crude fat ranging from 1.00±0.03%DM for BY to 12.72±0.10%DM for FYS. Carbohydrate ranged from 41.86±0.15%DM for PYSS to 68.57±0.06%DM for BY. PYSS had significantly (P<0.05) higher protein level but lower carbohydrate and phytate levels. The rich protein content of the diets and low phytate implied that dietary protein may be available for new tissues to be built. Boiled yam contained the highest hydrocyanic level at 0.19±0.02mg/100g. Phytate levels ranged from 1.91±0.03mg/100g for PYSS to 2.37±0.01mg/100g for FYS. There were significant increases in the levels of total and soluble oxalate in all the diets compared to the boiled yam. The results showed that the various processing methods adopted reduced the hydrocyanic and phytate levels.
