Sweet potato leaves super source of vitamins

A research has found that sweet potato is abundant in essential vitamins, especially B6 which is a water-soluble vitamin necessary for the proper maintenance of red blood cell metabolism and many other bodily functions.

Wilmer Barrera and David Picha from Louisiana State University analysed a variety of sweet potato tissue types - mature leaves, young leaves, young petioles, buds, vine sections and root tissue.

They found that vitamin B6, vitamin C and vitamin B2 contents were higher in leaf tissue than in other tissue types.

"Our results indicate that mature and young leaves of sweet potato could provide significant amounts of vitamin B6 to the human diet," the researchers said.

The vitamin B6 content in sweet potato leaves compares well with fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, avocados, carrots, bananas and cauliflower, they noted.

The study was published in the journal HortScience.