Phenolic compounds in Chinese purple yam and changes during vacuum frying

► We tentatively identified 4 anthocyanins in a Chinese purple yam. ► Sinapic acid and ferulic acid were the major phenolic acids in the purple yam. ► Techniques of HPLC-DAD-MS and HPLC-DAD were used for identification. ► Vacuum frying was proved to be a practical technology for purple yam processing.