Brazil: research develops colored and biofortified sweet potatoes

Published Dec 14, 2021

Tridge summary

Researchers at Embrapa Hortaliças in Brazil have developed three new sweet potato cultivars, BRS Cotinga, BRS Anembé, and CIP BRS Nuti, which stand out for their purple and orange tones, indicating a high content of bioactive compounds like anthocyanins and beta-carotene. These new cultivars are designed to meet the demand for colored pulp cultivars with high nutritional content, addressing the challenges of low production stability and poor root quality in the current supply. These sweet potatoes not only offer improved productivity, better quality, and disease resistance but also provide a diversified and healthy diet for consumers, being rich in anthocyanins and beta-carotene, with CIP BRS Nuti having the highest beta-carotene content among sweet potato cultivars. These new varieties are expected to bring added value to farmers and consumers by offering visually appealing and nutritious options.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Three new sweet potato cultivars, developed by researchers at Embrapa Hortaliças (DF), promise to add more colors and nutrients to the diet of Brazilians. Instead of the pink rind and cream-colored pulp of the varieties traditionally planted and consumed in the country, the new cultivars stand out for their purple and orange tones, which are indicative of the high content of bioactive compounds beneficial to health, such as anthocyanins and beta-carotene, respectively. Two of the new cultivars have purple skin and pulp and differ in terms of destination: BRS Cotinga sweet potato is recommended for industrial processing in the form of chips, flour, starch syrup and other by-products, and sweet potato BRS Anembé for the table market, with baked goods such as purees, homemade jams & breads. The sweet potato CIP BRS Nuti, developed in partnership with the Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP) in Peru, has an orange peel and pulp and has dual aptitude, being able to serve both ...

Source: Portal Do Agronegocio