Sweet potato potential products

Starch-containing plants Another potential ethanol feedstock is starch. Starch molecules are made up of long chains of glucose molecules. Hence, starch-containing materials can also be fermented after the starch molecules have been broken down into simple glucose molecules. Examples of starchy materials commonly used around the world for ethanol production include cereal grains, potatoes, sweet potatoes and cassava. Typical cereal grains commonly used for ethanol production in the EET are rye and wheat. 

The overall objective of this chapter is to review the past, present, and future role of the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam) in human nutrition. Specifically, the chapter describes the role of the sweet potato in human diets outlines the biochemical and nutritional composition of the sweet potato with emphasis on its (3-carotene and anthocyanin contents highlights sweet potato utilization, and its potential as value-added products in human food systems and demonstrates the potential of the sweet potato in the African context. Early records have indicated that the sweet potato is a staple food source for many indigenous populations in Central and South Americas, Ryukyu Island, Africa, the Caribbean, the Maori people, Hawaiians, and Papua New Guineans. Protein contents of sweet potato leaves and roots range from 4.0% to 27.0% and 1.0% to 9.0%, respectively. The sweet potato could be considered as an excellent novel source of natural health-promoting compounds, such as p-carotene and anthocyanins, for the functional food market. 

Highlight sweet potato utilization and its potential for incorporation into value-added products for use in human food systems... 

FIG. 10 Potential sweet potato products (some with limited commercialization). (A) Bread pudding, (B) casserole, (C) bran muffins, (D) scalloped sweet potato, (E) refrigerated sweet potato pieces, and (F) tart. 

Over the last decade or more, sweet potato production has increased in Uganda while the decline in cassava production has allowed the crop to play a role in food security. However, the sweet potato has the potential to play a much more substantial role in the Ugandan food system. Further fundamental research is needed to upgrade the quality of sweet potato production, processing and product development, and identify ways to effectively educate Ugandans regarding exploitation of the nutritional benefits of the sweet potato, and how it can play a role in eradicating VAD and food insecurity. 

The price of PLA is predicted to equal that of PET by 2010 and therefore in the near future is expected to become a commodity polymer. It is being presently produced by Hycail, Galactic, Cargill (which is planning a production capacity of 0.5 million tonnes/year in 2010), and Toyota. PT Toyota Bio Indonesia was established in April 2001 to grow sweet potatoes for the manufacture of bioplastics. At present the global bioplastics market is just 20,000 tonnes annually, but Toyota calculates that as much as 30 million tonnes of the total annual plastics demand of 150 million tonnes could be replaced by bioplastics. In view of that potential, Toyota aims to increase production to 20 million tonnes with a potential sales value of five trillion Yen [38]. This would correspond to two-thirds of the global market of bioplastics by 2020, equivalent to 25% of Toyota s consolidated sales in 2003. 

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