A Root for All Seasons: The Functional Versatility of Sweet Potatoes

Baked, boiled, or fried, sweet potatoes delight the taste buds of millions of consumers, and are a popular recipe at gatherings like Thanksgiving every year. With their various skin and flesh colors—yellow, orange, white, purple—these root tubers are not just tasty, they are a sweet source of nutrients and antioxidants. And they offer more.

Recent studies published in ACS journals highlight the functional potential of sweet potatoes in sectors including biological chemistry, materials science, and energy.

Going Lean

Purple sweet potato powder reduces fat accumulation

Due to their rich anthocyanin content, purple sweet potatoes could play an important role in combating obesity. Researchers in Taiwan found that purple sweet potato powder administered to animal models significantly reduced body weight and visceral fat accumulation. The results, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, suggest that purple sweet potatoes have therapeutic potential in the management of obesity and associated metabolic disorders.

Signaling Sustainability

Purple sweet potato extract as a food freshness indicator

Purple sweet potatoes could also provide an environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum-based food packaging materials, thanks to their antibacterial and antioxidant properties. A study in ACS Applied Bio Materials incorporated a new type of biodegradable smart film using purple sweet potato extract as an indicator in shrimp packaging. The study validated the effectiveness of the extract as a visual freshness indicator and confirmed the non-toxic nature of the material.

Storing Energy

Sweet potato syrup as source material in sodium-ion batteries

Adding to their functional reputation beyond menus, sweet potatoes have also demonstrated their utility in energy storage. Researchers in China converted foaming syrup from sweet potato baking into hard carbon materials used as battery anodes. Writing in ACS Omega, the researchers showed that the sweet potato byproduct performed exceptionally in sodium-ion batteries, opening new avenues for utilizing sweet potato resources.

Securing Value

A green remedy for a new fungal threat to sweet potatoes

Given their importance as a food crop and potential functional applications, scientists constantly monitor sweet potatoes against stressors. Recent research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry not only uncovered a new fungal pathogen targeting the crop’s storage roots but, even better, developed a safe and eco-friendly solution. In the study, a compound extracted from medicinal magnolia and similar plants impressively inhibited the novel pathogen and prevented sweet potato decay.