Bio-Valorization of Sweet Potato Bagasse into Food Additives, Feeds, and Fuels

Sweet potato is superior to other carbohydrate sources and rich in vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and protein content. The crop generates much bagasse that currently has little utilization and goes waste into landfills and water bodies. Leaves, vines, and tuber peels contain polyphenols and carotenoids that could be used as antioxidants and food colorants. Several useful bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, vitamins, fibers, enzymes, oils, and others, can be recovered from the sweet potato wastes produced during the starch manufacturing process. The current chapter discusses various waste streams produced during the stages of harvesting, post-harvest handling, starch extraction, and alcoholic fermentation, the presence of phenolic and bioactive compounds in these waste streams, various extraction techniques, and the potential for converting these valuable materials into various value-added products with higher consumer acceptance.