Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Aug 25;11(9):1648.
doi: 10.3390/antiox11091648.

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

Emily P Laveriano-Santos  1   2   3 , Anallely López-Yerena  1   2 , Carolina Jaime-Rodríguez  2   4 , Johana González-Coria  2   4 , Rosa M Lamuela-Raventós  1   2   3 , Anna Vallverdú-Queralt  1   2   3 , Joan Romanyà  2   4 , Maria Pérez  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

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

Emily P Laveriano-Santos et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

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.

Keywords: Ipomoea batata L. roots; bioactive compounds; biological functions; carotenes; cooking; healthy food; polyphenols.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The main flavonoids identified in sweet potato.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Main anthocyanins in purple sweet potato.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Main phenolic acids identified in sweet potato.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Main carotenoids identified in sweet potato.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Main phytosterols identified in sweet potato.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Beneficial health effects of bioactive compounds from sweet potatoes.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Main factors affecting the phenolic profile in sweet potato during processing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jung J.-K., Lee S.-U., Kozukue N., Levin C.E., Friedman M. Distribution of Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidative Activities in Parts of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batata L.) Plants and in Home Processed Roots. J. Food Compos. Anal. 2011;24:29–37. doi: 10.1016/j.jfca.2010.03.025. - DOI
    1. Bovell-Benjamin A.C. Sweet Potato: A Review of Its Past, Present, and Future Role in Human Nutrition. Adv. Food Nutr. Res. 2007;52:1–59. doi: 10.1016/S1043-4526(06)52001-7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Shih P.-H., Yeh C.-T., Yen G.-C. Anthocyanins Induce the Activation of Phase II Enzymes through the Antioxidant Response Element Pathway against Oxidative Stress-Induced Apoptosis. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2007;55:9427–9435. doi: 10.1021/jf071933i. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wang H., Cao G., Prior R.L. Oxygen Radical Absorbing Capacity of Anthocyanins. J. Agric. Food Chem. 1997;45:304–309. doi: 10.1021/jf960421t. - DOI
    1. Parveen A., Choi S., Kang J.-H., Oh S.H., Kim S.Y. Trifostigmanoside I, an Active Compound from Sweet Potato, Restores the Activity of MUC2 and Protects the Tight Junctions through PKCα/β to Maintain Intestinal Barrier Function. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020;22:291. doi: 10.3390/ijms22010291. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources