A Review of the Composition and Health Benefits of Sweet Potato
Abstract
Plant-based medicine is a popular emerging field. If one follows the research of this domain, will observe that the majority of the work is focused on different herbs as medicinal plants. However, many vegetables and fruits, their juices and extracts, possess medicinal properties and have been used as such since ancient times. Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is one of the main aliments in many countries. Although regarded as a staple food, people observed its beneficial and medicinal properties. Bioactive components such as anthocyanin, polyphenolic compounds, coumarins, calystegines and triterpenes have been indicated to stimulate immune function, reducing oxidative stress and free radical damage, reduce cardiovascular disease risk, suppress cancer cell growth, prevent and improve symptoms of diabetes and hypoglycemia, suppress HIV symptoms, act as hepatoprotective while being part of a nutritious aliment all together. A sweet potato diet can therefore supplement medication for any of the above-mentioned affections. The current article sets to review the benefits and medicinal properties of sweet potato as regarded by specialty literature. The outcome is to list the main components and the medical benefits observed, outlining the potential uses of Ipomoea batatas in the plant-based medicine field. The review sets to investigate components in all plant parts: tuberous roots, leaves and young shoots.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:a) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
