Sweet Potato Is Not Simply an Abundant Food Crop: A Comprehensive Review of Its Phytochemical Constituents, Biological Activities, and the Effects of Processing

Abstract

Nowadays, sweet potato (Ipomoea batata L.; Lam.) is considered a very interesting nutritive food because it is rich in complex carbohydrates, but as a tubercle, contains high amounts of health-promoting secondary metabolites. The aim of this review is to summarize the most recently published information on this root vegetable, focusing on its bioactive phytochemical constituents, potential effects on health, and the impact of processing technologies. Sweet potato is considered an excellent source of dietary carotenoids, and polysaccharides, whose health benefits include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activity, cardiovascular protection, anticancer properties and improvement in neurological and memory capacity, metabolic disorders, and intestinal barrier function. Moreover, the purple sweet potato, due to its high anthocyanin content, represents a unique food option for consumers, as well as a potential source of functional ingredients for healthy food products. In this context, the effects of commercial processing and domestic cooking techniques on sweet potato bioactive compounds require further study to understand how to minimize their loss.

Climate resilience, yield and geographical suitability of sweet potato under the changing climate: A review

“…Sweet potato is getting wider attention across the world to ensure food, energy, and nutritional security and as a remedy to several health problems such as neurological and memory capacity, hepatoprotective activity, cardiovascular protection, anticancer properties, antioxidant, and anti‐inflammatory issues (Alam, 2021; Laveriano‐Santos et al, 2022). Further research is needed for the sustainable management of this crop to extract bioenergy.…”

Appropriate Post-Harvest Technologies for Biofortified Crops Pro Enhanced Utilization, Value Addition, and Micronutrient Retention

“…OFSP puree is an ingredient in many foods, including baby foods, casseroles, puddings, soups, pies, cakes, ice creams, breads, and other products [36,[67][68][69]. Sweet potato purees are also used in fruit/vegetable-based beverages and restructured products as well as commercial ones like jam, ketchup, flakes, and powders while various fermented food products have also been explored [36,[70][71][72][73][74].…”

Purple Sweet Potato Polysaccharide Exerting an Anti-inflammatory Effect via a TLR-Mediated Pathway by Regulating Polarization and Inhibiting the Inflammasome Activation

“…The Center for Science in the Public Interest in the United States classifies sweet potatoes as a “superfood” because of their highly beneficial nutrients and biological compositions. Among the nutrients, polysaccharides have attracted considerable attention owing to their various active functions. , Previously, we reported a new homogeneous polysaccharide (PSPP-1) obtained from purple sweet potato, comprising the α-(1 → 4)-D-Glc backbone with 1 → 2, 1 → 3, and 1 → 6 glycosidic linkages as branches, and its primary and advanced structures were comprehensively evaluated . Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, we investigated the immune-potentiating activity of PSPP-1 for the first time.…”