A new study on the nutritive value of sweet potato conducted by the Rural Development Administration (RDA) of South Korea and conveyed to the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) by the Food and Fertilizer Technology Center (FFTC) of Taiwan, shows that sweet potato contains antioxidants such as chlorogenic acid, isoclorogenic acid, and caffeic acid.
Antioxidants, known as the modern-day anti-aging nutrients, are phytochemicals or substances (mostly present in fruits and vegetables) that neutralize or counterbalance the free radicals that are generated by the body during normal metabolism.
Free radicals are the most vicious and the most toxic by-products of metabolism. When not neutralized, they can travel through the body cells, disrupting the structures of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and cause cell damages. Such damage is believed to contribute to aging, and degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cataract, and the likes.
Sweet potato antioxidants, as indicated in the study, are higher in the leaves than in the tips, but higher in the tips than in the roots and petioles. Also, the study says that all parts of sweet potato, especially the leaves and tips, contain protein, lipids, carbohydrates, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and vitamins A and C. These nutrients are favorably comparable with those of other vegetables’ nutrients when they are boiled or used in their dry form than when they are consumed as a raw material.
PCARRD, a sectoral planning council of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), urges the health conscious and consumers of sweet potato to eat the plant frequently, especially its leaves and tips, to maintain their good health and avoid those deadly diseases mentioned above.
PCARRD and RDA are among the active collaborative research agencies with FFTC, which are concerned in promoting agricultural development in their countries and in the Asian and Pacific Region. – Bengie P. Gibe, S&T Media Service