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Sweet potato, sweet potato or sweet potato are some of the words used to designate the tuber of the Ipomoea batatas plant and any of its varieties. Therefore, all these words refer to the same food. In some regions some names are preferred over others. There are more than 400 varieties of sweet potatoes and most have yellowish-brown or copper skin with bright orange or yellow-red flesh. 3 Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are the most consumed varieties, but there are also white, cream, yellow, pink and deep purple varieties.

Regular consumption of sweet potatoes or extracts rich in bioactive phytochemicals also appears to be beneficial for human health, as demonstrated by the Okinawan diet.

Sweet potato has become a focus of research in recent decades due to its nutritional and functional properties. Its leaves, stems and roots are a valuable source of bioactive carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, carotenoids, anthocyanins, phenolic acids and flavonoids. These bioactive metabolites possess many biological activities, such as antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancer, hepatoprotective, antimicrobial, antiulcer, and immunostimulant activities.

Sweet potatoes are a good source of several bioactive compounds, especially (poly)phenols, terpenoids, tannins, saponins, glycosides, alkaloids and phytosterols. The diversity of skin and pulp color of this tuber arises from the different levels of (poly)phenols and carotenoids.

The dominant pigments in purple sweet potatoes are anthocyanins and phenolic acids, while in yellow and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, they are phenolic acids, flavonoids and carotenoids. Quercetin, myricetin, luteolin, kaempferol and apigenin are the flavonoids identified in sweet potatoes, especially in varieties with orange and purple flesh.

The main flavonoid in purple and orange potatoes is quercetin, followed by myricetin, kaempferol and luteolin. The main ones in the purple varieties are the 3-sophoroside-5-glucoside derivatives of the aglycones of peonidin, cyanidin and pelargonidin, almost all of them mono- or diacylated with p -hydroxybenzoic acid, ferulic acid or caffeic acid.

β -Carotene is the most abundant in those with orange flesh (more than 99% of the total carotenoid content), while trans-β-carotene predominates in those with white and purple flesh. In orange varieties, Vimala et al. (2011) reported between 5.9 and 12.9 mg/100 g of β -carotene. Levels of lutein and zeaxanthin are higher in potatoes with purple flesh than in white ones.

Breast cancer is a major cause of mortality in women worldwide. In a study using breast cancer cells, lipid-soluble polyphenols (mainly derived from caffeic acid) from fermented sweet potato were found to accumulate in the cell cytoplasm due to their high lipophilicity and reduce ROS through their strong antioxidant activity. These metabolites also arrested the cell cycle in G0/G1 by suppressing Akt activity and enhancing the cytotoxicity of anticancer agents.

Colon cancer is responsible for a high proportion of cancer mortality worldwide.

A new small molecule, glycoprotein SPG-8700, was found to promote apoptosis in colon cancer cells by regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax genes, with no effect on normal cells. growth. Some minor sesquiterpene compounds in sweet potatoes have also been reported to improve intestinal barrier function.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096399691630360X (2017).----

https://tjpr.org/admin/12389900798187/2016_15_12_31.pdf (2017).---

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/11/9/1648 (2022).-----

https://ifst.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ijfs.16447 (2023).---

https://www.cell.com/heliyon/pdf/S2405-8440(23)05892-9.pdf (2023).---

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