Biological activities of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) tips and tubers

Abstract

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is an edible dicotyledon crop that belongs to the Convolvulaceae family. It is an excellent source of carbohydrates and a major food resource in Korea, along with rice and soybean. It is widely used as a functional food owing to its high content of not only carbohydrates but also phenolic compounds, carotenoids, vitamin C, anthocyanins, various minerals, and dietary fiber, and it is the 7th largest crop in the world (Bovell-Benjamin, 2007).Sweet potato has attracted a lot of attention because it is a crop that has simultaneously solved energy, food, and environmental problems of the 21st century owing to its strong environmental adaptability, and its roots, stems, and leaves can be consumed (Ishida et al., 2000). In addition, sweet potato is a food with high utility value because it is used for producing food, snacks, processed foods, vegetables, industrial products, and feed (O'Hair, 1984).The shape of sweet potato is largely divided into aboveground and underground parts. The aboveground part is composed of leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds, while the underground part is composed of roots. Sweet potato tips, which are 10 to 15 cm from the end of the stem, and leaves and stalks, which are among the shoots, are grown 50 to 60 days after tubers are directly cut into the field. Sweet potato tips can be harvested 8-10 times during the cultivation period, and the total yield is very high (130-180 t/ha) and has the advantage of easy harvesting (Lee, Park, et al., 2007). In recent years, the whole plant, tubers, tips, and stems of sweet potato

Purple Sweet Potato Polysaccharide Exerting an Anti-inflammatory Effect via a TLR-Mediated Pathway by Regulating Polarization and Inhibiting the Inflammasome Activation

“…The Center for Science in the Public Interest in the United States classifies sweet potatoes as a “superfood” because of their highly beneficial nutrients and biological compositions. Among the nutrients, polysaccharides have attracted considerable attention owing to their various active functions. , Previously, we reported a new homogeneous polysaccharide (PSPP-1) obtained from purple sweet potato, comprising the α-(1 → 4)-D-Glc backbone with 1 → 2, 1 → 3, and 1 → 6 glycosidic linkages as branches, and its primary and advanced structures were comprehensively evaluated . Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, we investigated the immune-potentiating activity of PSPP-1 for the first time.…”