Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatus)

Sweet potatoes are a nutritional powerhouse with many sustainable healing benefits.

- Dr Karen Bridgman

Sweet potatoes rank as the world's seventh most important food crop (after wheat, rice, maize, potatoes, barley and cassava) because of their versatility and adaptability, as they have relatively few pests, grow well in poor soil and require minimal input of labour, water, fertiliser or chemicals. They are major crops with potential for managing food security and climate change, as under conditions of extensive agriculture, the plant combines drought tolerance with high yields.

Sweet potatoes belong to the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae) and are only distantly related to the common potato (Solanum tuberosum). Sometimes referred to as yams, sweet potatoes are not true yams, which are of the Dioscoreaceae family.

Nutrition

Tubers (roots) contain unique anthocyanidins, phenolic acids, trypsin inhibitors with glutathione peroxidase activity (antioxidant), triterpenoid saponins and salicylic acid. The purple sweet potatoes have the highest antioxidant polyphenol and flavonoid content.