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6411591 
Journal Article 
Bioactive compounds and biological activity of extracts from Virginia-grown sweet potatoes affected by different cooking methods 
Xu, Y; Cartier, A; Porter, A; Lalancette, K; Abraha-Eyob, Z; Sismour, EN; Si, H; Wang, X; Rehmani, N; Githinji, L 
2018 
1 
Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization
ISSN: 2193-4126
EISSN: 2193-4134 
12 
4 
2591-2597 
WOS:000452363700037 
Sweet potato is one of the potential alternatives to tobacco in Virginia and is well-adapted to environmental conditions of southern Virginia. Bioactive compounds and biological activity of extracts from five Virginia-grown sweet potato varieties (‘Beauregard’, ‘Bellevue’, ‘Hayman’, ‘Porto Rico’, and ‘Purple’) and their responses to three cooking methods (baking, boiling and steaming) were investigated. Cooking methods and variety had significant (P < 0.05) interaction on the properties analyzed. Total phenolic content (TPC) of the processed samples were either unchanged or significantly increased, except baked and steamed ‘Beauregard’ and steamed ‘Porto Rico’ in which TPC significantly decreased. The effect of processing on total flavonoid content (TFC) was dependent on variety and flesh color. Compared to their raw form, all processed yellow-fleshed ‘Porto Rico’ had significantly lower TFC, while white-fleshed ‘Hayman’ and purple-fleshed ‘Purple’ had the highest TFC. Boiling appears to be an effective cooking method for retaining or enhancing both TPC (42.1%) and TFC (68.1%). Anthocyanins were only detected in ‘Purple’. All cooking methods significantly increased total anthocyanin content and steaming is the most effective method (2.05 mg CGE/g sample). ß-Carotene was presented primarily in orange-fleshed ‘Beauregard’ and ‘Bellevue’ and yellow-fleshed ‘Porto Rico’, and its content was markedly reduced in all processed samples. Of the five varieties investigated, ‘Hayman’ exhibited the highest in vitro antioxidant (14.5 µmol TE/g sample) and anticancer effect in human breast cancer cell line BT-549 with cell viability reducing to 50%. Cooking significantly increased their antioxidant capacity but decreased anticancer activity. Our results demonstrated that cooking methods had different effects on bioactive compounds and biological activities of sweet potatoes. 
Sweet potato; Virginia; Cooking methods; Bioactive compounds; Biological activity