Major Nutritional Content of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) and It’s Importance: Review

Abstract

Sweet potato is playing an immense role in human diet and considered as second staple food in developed and developing countries. Its production and management need low inputs compared to the other staple crops. The natural nutritional content of sweet potato roots varies up on the flesh color the contain. Thus, Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are one of the richest natural sources of beta carotene, a plant-based compound that is converted to vitamin A in your body so as to combat malnutrition, including vitamin A deficiency. In addition to beta- carotene, OFSP is known as a source of dietary fiber, complex carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins A, C, and B, iron, calcium as well as the making of industrial starch and leaves also could be consumed as vegetables. A 100-150 g serving of boiled roots of orange-fleshed sweet potato can supply the daily requirement of vitamin A for young children which can protect them from blindness. Along with the β-carotene, the pro-vitamin A, the young children and adults can also get adequate number of calories, vitamin C and other micronutrients through increased consumption orange-fleshed sweet potato. Therefore, sweet potato an important crop in the economic uplifting of humans and serving as both food security crop and nutrition security crop.