Sweet potato varieties, nutrition and effects on cancer and heart health
What it found
Sweet potato contains sugars, starch, vitamins, minerals and plant compounds that vary by variety.
In lab and animal studies these compounds affected cancer cells and heart disease markers, and one small human trial found changes in cholesterol and triglycerides.
What they found
Studies in people
Cholesterol in people
In one small human trial, 58 people who ate 132 g of white sweet potato as a meal replacement had lower circulating cholesterol by 7 mg/dL and triglycerides by 2 mg/dL.
Animal and lab studies
Resistant starch and gut health
Sweet potato contains resistant starch, which gut bacteria ferment into short-chain fatty acids. In lab tests, sweet potato flour and starch helped Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus grow.
Cancer, in lab tests
In cell and tissue studies, sweet potato compounds such as anthocyanins, trypsin inhibitors and polyphenols slowed cancer cell growth, caused cell death and reduced blood vessel growth. These effects were seen in lab models, not in people.
Heart disease, in animals
In hamsters, eating sweet potato leaves improved markers linked to lower heart disease risk and helped blood vessels relax. These effects were seen in animals, not in people.
Blood pressure, in lab tests
Peptides from sweet potato root showed anti-ACE activity in lab tests, and fermenting sweet potato with lactic acid bacteria increased this activity. These results come from lab experiments, not from people.
Other findings
Nutrient content varies
Sweet potato varieties differ in sugars, starch, vitamins, minerals and plant compounds. Orange-fleshed varieties are the best source of beta-carotene, while purple varieties have the most phenolic compounds.
What the authors conclude
- They say that sweet potato bioactives from leaves and roots may individually and together help prevent cardiovascular disease through several protective mechanisms.
- They call for more research on the molecular events behind these effects to support the evidence from human, animal and lab studies.
- They advise that future work should focus on how the body processes sweet potato compounds and how they act on different organs.
How it was done
The authors wanted to update what is known about sweet potato's botany, farming, products and nutritional value, and to look at its effects on cancer and cardiovascular disease.
They reviewed published research on sweet potato varieties, their growing and processing, their nutrients and plant compounds, and studies on cancer and heart disease. These included lab tests on cells, animal studies, and one human trial with 58 people.
What it can’t tell you
- Most of the cancer and heart findings come from lab tests on cells or from animals. They cannot show what happens in people.
- The human trial was small and looked at cholesterol and triglycerides, so it cannot show whether sweet potato prevents heart disease or cancer.
- The review does not include long-term studies in people, so it cannot say how sweet potato affects cancer or heart disease risk over time.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico; Autonomous University of Baja California, Mexico; University of Talca, Chile
The paper
- Title
- Sweet Potato ( Ipomoea batatas L.) Phenotypes: From Agroindustry to Health Effects
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Escobar-Puentes AA, Palomo I, Rodríguez L, et al (2022). Sweet Potato ( Ipomoea batatas L.) Phenotypes: From Agroindustry to Health Effects. Foods (Basel, Switzerland). doi:10.3390/foods11071058Free full textPubMed 35407143DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error