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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/189955
Sweet Potato Is Not Simply an Abundant Food Crop: A Comprehensive Review of Its Phytochemical Constituents, Biological Activities, and the Effects of Processing
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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 healthpromoting 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, antiinflammatory 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.
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LAVERIANO-SANTOS, Emily P., et al. Sweet Potato Is Not Simply an Abundant Food Crop: A Comprehensive Review of Its Phytochemical Constituents, Biological Activities, and the Effects of Processing. Antioxidants. 2022. Vol. 11, num. 1648-1656. ISSN 2076-3921. [consulted: 13 of October of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/189955