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Review
. 2022 Apr 6;11(7):1058.
doi: 10.3390/foods11071058.

Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) Phenotypes: From Agroindustry to Health Effects

Alberto A Escobar-Puentes  1   2 , Iván Palomo  3 , Lyanne Rodríguez  3 , Eduardo Fuentes  3 , Mónica A Villegas-Ochoa  4 , Gustavo A González-Aguilar  4 , Francisco J Olivas-Aguirre  5 , Abraham Wall-Medrano  1
Affiliations
Review

Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) Phenotypes: From Agroindustry to Health Effects

Alberto A Escobar-Puentes et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Sweet potato (SP; Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) is an edible tuber native to America and the sixth most important food crop worldwide. China leads its production in a global market of USD 45 trillion. SP domesticated varieties differ in specific phenotypic/genotypic traits, yet all of them are rich in sugars, slow digestible/resistant starch, vitamins, minerals, bioactive proteins and lipids, carotenoids, polyphenols, ascorbic acid, alkaloids, coumarins, and saponins, in a genotype-dependent manner. Individually or synergistically, SP's phytochemicals help to prevent many illnesses, including certain types of cancers and cardiovascular disorders. These and other topics, including the production and market diversification of raw SP and its products, and SP's starch as a functional ingredient, are briefly discussed in this review.

Keywords: Ipomoea batatas; antioxidants; cancer; carotenoids; phenolic compounds; sweet potato.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sweet potato (SP; Ipomoea batatas L.) group of phytochemicals with associated health-promoting effects. Preventive actions (clockwise): Immunocompromise (A), prooxidant (B), diabetes (C), adiposity (D), inflammatory (E), infection (F), cardiovascular (G) diseases/metabolic rearrangements. Source: The authors (CC (by/nc/sa)-licensed clip art).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Nutrient density and affordability of SP-based foods as compared to common fruits and vegetables. Nutrient density (Nutrient Rich Foods index (NRF9.3), see references [60,61] for calculation details) vs. nutrient affordability (NRF9.3.price−1·100 kcal−1; higher (Q1) to lower (Q2) cost) plot.
Figure 3
Figure 3
FTIR spectra from white, orange, and purple sweet potato (SP) starches as compared to corn starches (CS: high-amylose, high-amylopectin, and normal). Functional chemical groups in SP are quite like those found in CS, although with a variety-specific intensity. Absorption signals at 1048 and 1022 cm−1 are associated with crystalline and amorphous starch regions, while the intense peak at 1000 cm−1 can be attributed to amylose and amylopectin molecules. Source: The authors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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