This staple crop contains essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, and is thus reported to play a significant role in human nutrition. Depending on the variety, potatoes can be a valuable source of minerals such as potassium, magnesium and phosphorus, and also of dietary antioxidants.
Many varieties of potatoes offer nutritional quantities of ascorbic acid (up to 42 mg/100 g), potassium (up to 693.8 mg/100 g), dietary fiber (up to 3.3%), and other healthy bioactive components, with lesser amounts of protein (0.85%–4.2%).
A high content of vitamin C enhances iron absorption, and high vitamin C / high iron potato varieties could significantly contribute to achieve the daily vitamin C and iron requirements.
The worldwide utilization of potatoes is moving from fresh to processed potato products such as mashed and canned potatoes, fries, chips, and ready meals.
Food related uses are abundant and follow different primary processes including boiling, steaming, freeze-drying, drying, and fermentation. These uses alter the biochemical composition of the potato and frequently enhance storability to ensure year-round food availability. In addition, the potato is used as medicine and animal fodder and for festive or ritual purposes.
Currently, less than 50% of potatoes are consumed fresh; the rest are used for processed potato products, animal feed, and seed tubers for the next season’s crops. Also, the food processing industry benefits more from French fries and chips than fresh potatoes.
Potatoes: Chemical compounds and usage
