Introduction:

The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is one of the most cultivated tubers in the world. Its cultivation and current consumption are focused on its nutritional composition and as a supplier of bioactive compounds for the prevention of diseases related to feeding.

Objective:

To review the nutritional and functional properties of sweet potatoes, the way they are processed and the development of new healthy products to increase their consumption.

Materials and methods:

Several databases were used (ResearchGate, Academia Edu, SciELO, Latindex, Science Direct, Scopus, Pub Med) and the most representative research was selected to meet the objectives.

Results:

Sweet potato tubers are rich in starches, sugars, fiber, proteins, vitamins, minerals and bioactive micro components. “In vivo" and "in vitro” studies have shown the beneficial effect of sweet potato antioxidants, mainly -carotene and anthocyanins, to prevent or treat some diseases. Steam cooking is the most efficient in retaining nutrients and obtaining flour is the most stable form for conservation, use and marketing. Starches, sugars, dyes, purees, drinks, pastes and snacks are obtained from processing, almost all of which are healthy.

Conclusions:

Orange and purple sweet potato Ipomoea tubers have a higher content of bioactives compounds. There are positive results on some diseases and their anticancer activity, evaluated by “in vivo" and "in vitro” test. In humans, there is still a lack of safety and efficacy studies to support their future use and allow for the development of drugs and research that evaluate the benefit of bioactive compounds in healthy foods.