Bioactive compounds and biological activities of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam.)

Abstract

Sweet potato (SP; Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam; a.k.a. “boniato,” “moniato,” “caiapo,” “kumara,” or “kumera”) is a tuberous staple food native to America with >1600 species (wild + domesticated). SP is the sixth most important food crop worldwide, and China leads its global market, valued at 45 trillion USD. SP domesticated varieties differ in specific phenotypic/genotypic traits, yet all of them are rich in sugars, slowly digestible/resistant starch, and a wide range of nutrients (e.g., vita mins and minerals)/xenobiotics (carotenoids, polyphenols, ascorbic acid, alkaloids, and saponins) with antioxidant, anti-nyctalopia, anti-xerophthalmia, hepatoprotective, anticoagulant/anti-HIV, antibacterial, and antidiabetic potential; the evidence on such bioactivities come from in vitro, in vivo, ex vivo assays and human clinical trials in an illness-dependent manner. However, such health benefits seem to be varietal-specific (phenogenotype) and plant location-specific (leaves, steams, storage root). These and other topics, including gross global production, market diversification of raw SP and its products, the effect of food processing, and potential pharmacological (mechanisms) effects, are briefly discussed in this chapter.