A purple sweet potato bred for its anti-cancer properties? This definitely rates high on the "What will they think of next?" meter. Sweet potatoes with purple flesh are naturally high in anthocyanins, the same phytochemicals that make blueberries such potent cancer-fighters. But most purple potatoes, which you may already have seen in gourmet or specialty produce sections, are fairly light in color, meaning they don't have as many anthocyanins. Plant geneticists at the Kansas State University bred three different purple sweet potato varieties to achieve one with a deep purple color throughout both the flesh and skin. Then nutrition researchers at K-State tested the new potato variety to determine the precise phytochemical content. The result? The new variety not only has high levels of three different anthocyanins, but it's total phenolic content -- the number of cancer-fighting compounds -- is also much higher than any other potato, the researchers said.
