Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is one of the most important food crops worldwide and its leaves provide a dietary source of nutrients and various bioactive compounds. These constituents of sweet potato leaves (SPL) vary among varieties and play important roles in treating and preventing various diseases. Recently, more attentions in health-promoting benefits have led to several in vitro and in vivo investigations, as well as the identification and quantification of bioactive compounds in SPL. Among them, many new compounds have been reported as the first identified compounds from SPL with their dominant bioactivities. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the bioactive compositions of SPL and their health benefits. Since SPL serve as a potential source of micronutrients and functional compounds, they can be further developed as a sustainable crop for food and medicinal industries.

Background: Herbaceous plants containing antioxidants can protect against DNA damage. Thepurpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant substances,antioxidant activity, and protection of DNA from oxidative damage in humanlymphocytes induced by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Ourmethods used acidic methanol and water extractions from six herbaceousplants, including Bidens alba (BA), Lycium chinense (LC),Mentha arvensis (MA), Plantago asiatica (PA),Houttuynia cordata (HC), and Centella asiatica(CA). Methods: Antioxidant compounds such as flavonol and polyphenol were analyzed.Antioxidant activity was determined by the inhibition percentage ofconjugated diene formation in a linoleic acid emulsion system and bytrolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay. Their antioxidativecapacities for protecting human lymphocyte DNA fromH₂O₂-induced strand breaks was evaluated by cometassay. Results: The studied plants were found to be rich in flavonols, especially myricetinin BA, morin in MA, quercetin in HC, and kaemperol in CA. In addition,polyphenol abounded in BA and CA. The best conjugated diene formationinhibition percentage was found in the acidic methanolic extract of PA.Regarding TEAC, the best antioxidant activity was generated from the acidicmethanolic extract of HC. Water and acidic methanolic extracts of MA and HCboth had better inhibition percentages of tail DNA% and tail moment ascompared to the rest of the tested extracts, and significantly suppressedoxidative damage to lymphocyte DNA. Conclusion: Quercetin and morin are important for preventing peroxidation and oxidativedamage to DNA, and the leaves of MA and HC extracts may have excellentpotential as functional ingredients representing potential sources ofnatural antioxidants.