Purple sweet potato (PSP) is an important economic crop in many countries, as a staple food and a source of bioactive compounds, which has attracted considerable attention. This review provides an up-to-date summary and discusses the available literature concerning PSP. Different issues, including its bioactive compounds, health effects and various efficient encapsulation strategies for PSP powders, extracts or individual substance are covered in detail, along with its utilization. In addition to the valuable nutritional composition, more than 135 bioactive compounds have been isolated and identified from these plants so far. Among the plenty of constituents, polysaccharides and flavonoids are the focus of attention and exhibit various biological activities.Additionally, protected-delivery systems are strongly proposed to shelter the bioactive compounds providing a better stability and improved pharmacological activities. Normally, PSP roots are the most attractive part to human because of their economic value. Even though PSP anthocyanins are the focus of researchers and industrial due to their attractive color and wide range of biological activities, PSP starch and protein also have wide applications in foods and nonfoods industries. However, the exploitation of PSP considering comprehensive utilization of various compounds, such as starch, non-starch polysaccharides, protein, and bioactive compounds should be considered.
Keywords: Biological activities; Chemical composition; Comprehensive utilization; Encapsulation systems; Purple sweet potato.
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