Bioactive compounds content and antioxidant activity in the leaves of some sweet potato cultivars (ipomoea batatas l.)

This study was aimed to determine the content of bioactive compounds and the antioxidant activity of sweet potato leaves, to encourage the consumption of the vegetative organs of this plant (leaves) and to identify new sources of natural antioxidants. The studied biological material was represented by six sweet potato cultivars cultivated in the Didactic Field (2018) of the Faculty of Horticulture in Craiova. The total dry matter content (DMC), the content of phenolic compounds and flavonoids, the enzymatic activity of catalase and peroxidase and the antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABTS) were determined. Cultivar 3 with the highest enzymatic activity of catalase (6.6 mM H2O2/g/min fm) and peroxidase (615.8 ∆A/min/g fm) and cultivar 6 with the highest content of phenolic compounds (10.237 mg GAE/g fm) were noted and flavonoids (9.73 mg QE/g fm) as well as the highest antioxidant activity (72.18 μM TE/g fm by DPPH method and 75.22 μM TE/g fm by ABTS method). The results suggest that the leaves of this species should be used as valuable food to cope with future changes in food supply and demand, especially in developing countries.