Abstract

M. O. Oke and T. S. Workneh

Sweet potato (SP) is an important root crop grown all over the world and consumed as a vegetable, boiled, baked or often fermented into food and beverages. It could be a very good vehicle for addressing some health related problems and also serve as food security. The research into sweet potato processing has established the fact that there is a lot more in sweet potatoes than its starch. The review has established that the nutritional quality content in sweet potatoes can be enhanced by developing new varieties from available germplasm. Natural colourant and antioxidant present in purple- and red-flesh potatoes can be used for developing functional foods. Available evidence for Africa suggested that postharvest processing and subsequent storage of sweet potatoes need further research to explore the ways by which the new cultivars could be used for industrial and export purposes. Based on the report of the review, study of the combined effects of blanching and/or freezing pre-treatments with higher drying temperatures, determination of moisture diffusivity and activation energy during different drying conditions are recommended for future research.