Bioactive polyphenols of leaf biomass from sweet potato varieties under different fertilizers as a potential agri-food resource

Sweet potato leavesare a natural source of bioactive compounds with high antioxidant activity. Despite abundance of results regarding sweet potato composition, effect of fertilizing on bioactive compounds is not explored enough. In this study influence of diverse fertilization treatments on the yield and leaf composition of 'Japanese', 'Beauregard' and '414' sweet potato cultivars from late harvesting of dual-purpose was examined. Through comprehensive analysis, we reveal cultivar-specific responses to fertilization treatments, showcasing distinct correlations among factors such as chlorophyll, carotenoids, phenolic and flavonoid content, demonstrating the impact of fertilization on both yield and biochemical composition, underscoring the unique variations across sweet potato cultivars.Despite these differences, all cultivars exhibited significant changes in yield and biochemical composition in response to fertilization. Furthermore, sweet potato leafs were characterized with phenolic acids (SPLPA) and sweet potato leaf flavonoids (SPLF), identifying 33 individual constituents. PCA analysis of results offers valuable insights into the complex relationships between of each cultivar to fertilization treatments and the bioactive polyphenols present. The results obtained from this study would be beneficial to sweet potato producers and increase the interest of consumers for sweet potato leaves.