title: Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) leaves as nutritional and functional foods.
abstract: In this study, the nutritional compositions of leaves from 40 sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) cultivars were assessed. The correlations between antioxidant activity and crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, carbohydrate, and polyphenol contents were determined. The crude protein, crude fiber, crude fat, carbohydrate and ash contents ranged between 16.69-31.08, 9.15-14.26, 2.08-5.28, 42.03-61.36, and 7.39-14.66g/100gdryweight(DW), respectively. According to the index of nutritional quality, sweet potato leaves are good sources of protein, fiber, and minerals, especially K, P, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, and Cu. The correlation coefficient between antioxidant activity and total polyphenol content was the highest (0.76032, p<0.0001), indicating that polyphenols are important antioxidants in sweet potato leaves. Sweet potato leaves, which contain several nutrients and bioactive compounds, should be consumed as leafy vegetables in an attempt to reduce malnutrition, especially in developing countries.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Nutrition Science, Institute of Agro-Products Processing Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Processing, Ministry of Agriculture, No. 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Hongnan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Nutrition Science, Institute of Agro-Products Processing Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Processing, Ministry of Agriculture, No. 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, PR China. Electronic address: mutaihua@126.com.
authors.forename: Taihua
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Nutrition Science, Institute of Agro-Products Processing Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Processing, Ministry of Agriculture, No. 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Lisha
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Nutrition Science, Institute of Agro-Products Processing Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Processing, Ministry of Agriculture, No. 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Nutrition Science, Institute of Agro-Products Processing Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Processing, Ministry of Agriculture, No. 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Jingwang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000032:analysis; D055951:Functional Food / Q000032:analysis*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000517:prevention & control; D027723:Ipomoea batatas / Q000737:chemistry*; D008903:Minerals / Q000032:analysis; D009753:Nutritive Value; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000737:chemistry; D014675:Vegetables
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D002241:Carbohydrates; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D008903:Minerals; D059808:Polyphenols
keywords: Antioxidant activity; Index of nutritional quality; Mineral content; Polyphenols; Proximate composition; Sweet potato leaves