CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

History
 Sweet potatoes are native to Central and Southern America and are one of the
oldest vegetables known to man. They have been consumed since prehistoric
times as evidenced by sweet potato relics dating back 10,000 years that have
been discovered in Peruvian Caves.

Christopher Columbus brought sweet potatoes to Europe after his first voyage to
the New World in 1492.By 16 th century, they were brought to the Philippines by
Spanish explorers and to Africa, India, Indonesia and Southern Asia by
Portuguese. Around this time, sweet potatoes began to be cultivated and still
remain a staple food in the traditional cuisine. (Petre,2017)

 Ginger is a member of a plant family that includes cardamom and turmeric. Its spicy
aroma is mainly due to presence of ketones, especially the gingerols, which appear to
be the primary component of ginger studied in much of the health-related scientific
research. The rhizome, which is the horizontal stem from which the roots grow, is the
main portion of ginger that is consumed. Ginger’s current name comes from the
Middle English gingivere, but this spice dates back over 3000 years to the Sanskrit
word srngaveram, meaning “horn root,” based on its appearance. In Greek, it was
called ziggiberis, and in Latin, zinziberi. (Nour et al. 2017)
 Turmeric has been put to use as a foodstuff, cosmetic, and medicine. It is widely
used as a spice in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking. It lends curry its
distinctive yellow color and flavor. It is used as a coloring agent in cheese, butter,
and other foods (Govindarajan 1980; Ammon and Wahl 1991).
Taxonomical

 Sweet potatoes belong to the Convolvulaceae or morning glory plant family, are
dicotyledons and known by the scientific name of Ipomea batatas (Millind and
Monika,2015)

 Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a flowering plant of the ginger family,

Zingiberaceae. It is rhizomatous, herbaceous and perennial plant. It reaches up
to height of 1 m tall. (Amanjot Kaur,2019)

 Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Zingiberaceae) is one of the most commonly

consumed dietary condiments in the world (Surh et al. 1999).

Classification of Sweet potato according to flesh color

 Sweet potato flesh has a variety of colors. Generally, there is white, light pink,
dark purple, red and cream, orange and yellow fleshed sweet potatoes. The two
most common flesh are white and orange. A part from the difference in the color
of the skin, there several specific differences with these sweet potatoes. White
fleshed sweet potato to be sweeter, softer skin unlike the orange sweet potato is
known to contain more beta carotene, harder and solid texture and darker skin
than the whit sweet potato (Masango,2014)
Intermediary Food Products
 Sweet Potato is processed into jams, in the Philippines, making use of the
available water soluble in the roots. The process consists of cooking a mixture of
20.7% sweet potato,45% sugar,34% water and 0.3% citric acid until a solids
content of 68° Brix was reached. Sensory evaluation of fruit flavored sweet
potato jam scored high for taste, but gelling consistency was slightly softer than
fruit jam due to high content of starch in the roots. Sweet potato jam is also
prepared on small scale in parts of China (Sheng and Wang,1987). The high
carotene content of orange fleshed variety” Kamala Sundari” of sweet potato is
utilized to develop naturally colored jam in Bangladesh (Sha Chaudhury,1992).
The shelf life of the jam was found to be more than a year. Sweet potato pulp is
mixed with fruit pulp like mango, banana, or apple for making jam in India, which
will also help to mask the typical sweet potato flavor (Padmaja and
Premkumar,2002).

Nutritional benefits

Sweet Potato with skin(Ipomea batatas

 Sweet potatoes are staple food in many parts of the world. They are a good
source of fiber, potassium, vitamins and other essential nutrients. Tara Bitran,
n.d. and Katey Davidson,2019, fiber content of sweet potatoes mainly comes
from the peel. Thus, removing it will decrease fiber content. Fiber is beneficial to
body because it helps normalize your bowel movements, lower cholesterol levels
and regulate blood sugar. Also fiber helps increase of fullness and support a
healthy gut microbiome. A medium(146 grams) sweet potato with skin provides:
Calories: 130,Carbs: 30 grams,Protein:4 grams, Fat: 0.3 grams, Fiber 5
grams,Provitamin A : 154% of the daily Value(DV),Vitamin C: 31% of the DV
,Potassium:15% of the DV, Sweet potatoes are high in antioxidants,particularly
beta carotene,chlorogenic acid and vitamins C and E. These antioxidants help
prevent cellular damage and are associated with a lower risk of chronic condition
 like heart disease and cancer. Since antioxidants tends to be concenyrated in the
skin and just below it,eating sweet potato skins can increase antioxidant intake
(Katey Davidson,2019)

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Zingiberaceae)

 Ginger has gained interest for its potential to treat various aspects of cardiovascular
disease, and the in vitro and animal data supporting the anti-inflammatory,
antioxidant, antiplatelet, hypotensive, and hypolipidemic effects of this condiment
have been reviewed (Nicoll and Henein 2009)
 Ginger has been suggested to be effective against inflammation, osteoarthritis, and
rheumatism (Reginster et al. 2000).
 The most common and well-established use of ginger throughout history is probably
its utilization in alleviating symptoms of nausea and vomiting. The benefits and
dangers of herbal treatment of liver and gastrointestinal distress have been reviewed
(Langmead and Rampton 2001),
 The effectiveness of ginger as an antiemetic has been attributed to its carminative
effect, which helps to break up and expel intestinal gas. This idea was supported by
the results of a randomized, double-blind trial in which healthy volunteers reported
that ginger effectively accelerated gastric emptying and stimulated antral contractions
(Wu et al. 2008).
 The effectiveness of ginger has been compared with that of vitamin B6 (another
recommended therapy) in randomized, double-blind, controlled trials. Results
indicated that ginger and vitamin B6 therapy were equally effective in reducing
nausea and the number of vomiting episodes during pregnancy (Sripramote and
Lekhyananda 2003; Smith et al. 2004).

Turmeric(Curcuma longa)

 Turmeric has several therapeutic and pharmacologic activities. Its antioxidant

activity is comparable to vitamins C and E . It can protect lipids or hemoglobin
 from oxidation. It can significantly inhibit the generation of reactive oxygen
species (ROS) such as H2O2, superoxide anions and nitrite radical generation
by activated macrophages (Ammon HP, et.al,1992).
 Turmeric exerts cardio-protective effects mainly by antioxidant activity, lowering
lipid peroxidation, anti-diabetic activity and inhibiting platelet aggregation.
Turmeric effect on cholesterol levels may be due to decreased cholesterol uptake
in the intestines and increased conversion of cholesterol to bile acids in the liver
(Khajehdehi P. ,2012)
 Turmeric exerts several protective effects on the gastrointestinal tract. Turmeric
also inhibits ulcer formation caused by stress, alcohol, Indomethacin, reserpine,
pyloric ligation, increasing gastric wall mucus in rats subjected to these
gastrointestinal insults. It also inhibits intestinal spasm and increases
bicarbonate, gastrin, secretin and pancreatic enzyme secretion (Khajehdehi P. ,
2012)
 Epidemiological studies have suggested reduced risk of in Alzheimer’s disease
(AD) in patients with long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs) which may show the role of brain inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease
(Huang MT ,et.al,1998; Rabiei Z,et.al, 2014)
 Turmeric is used as an herbal medicine for rheumatoid arthritis, chronic anterior
uveitis, conjunctivitis, skin cancer, small pox, chicken pox, wound healing, urinary
tract infections, and liver ailments (Dixit, Jain, and Joshi 1988). It is also used for
digestive disorders; to reduce flatus, jaundice, menstrual difficulties, and colic; for
abdominal pain and distension (Bundy et al. 2004); and for dyspeptic conditions
including loss of appetite, postprandial feelings of fullness, and liver and
gallbladder complaints. It has anti-inflammatory, choleretic, antimicrobial, and
carminative actions (Mills and Bone 2000).

Jam
 Thick, sweet spreads made by cooking crushed or chopped fruits with sugar.
They tend to hold shape, but are generally less firm than jellies (Barbara H.
Ingham,2008).