Kent Michael C. Solacito, Natalie Dianne C. Opiña, Inna Patricia Occeño (March 2010)
Philippine Science High School Western Visayas Campus – Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PSHS WVC), Brgy. Bito-on, Jaro, Iloilo City 5000, Philippines
ABSTRACT
Sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas, is a plant often grown in areas where rice is produced in large quantities. It is usually planted for its tuber, even though the leaves are known to be rich in Vitamin C, and polyphenols. Eventually, after the tuber is harvested, the leaves, which are known to be rich in vitamin C, are discarded or fed to animals.
One possible use for the leaves would be to process them and turn them into tea. To turn them into tea, red-violet kamote tops were gathered and processed using the commercial method. The pH of the tea produced was measured using the pH probe. The sensorial characteristics of the tea were evaluated by a consumer panel. The caffeine content of the product was determined through caffeine extraction. lodometric titration was used to determine the amount of Vitamin C in the tea. The study then proceeded to phase 2, wherein the kamote tops were sun-dried rather than dried with force-heated air. The same parameters were again measured.
The mean pH of the tea was 6.35, which makes it safe for consumption. The panel unanimously described the tea as common in appearance, dark gold in color, and woody in aroma and flavor. The kamote tea contained mean caffeine of 10 mg, less than the caffeine contained in tea sold commercially. The kamote tea had a mean vitamin C content of 23 mg. making it close to the recommended daily intake of 30 mg.
Therefore, the kamote tea has health benefits, as well as sensorial characteristics that, if improved upon, would be comparable to the black and green tea sold in the market.