The consumption of phenolic compounds is important for a healthy diet. Part of the diversity of potato is related with flesh color, so that diversity has a nutritional potential. Giusti et al (2014) studied a colorful set of native Andean potato with potential of high content of phenolic compounds.

The authors characterized and quantified the content of anthocyanins and other phenolic compounds in 20 native potatoes belonging to four different Solanum species (S. chaucha, S. stenotomum, S. phureja and S. tuberosum subsp. andigenum). Lyophilized potato samples (with skin) were supplied by the CIP. All samples were characterized by HPLC−MS. Monomeric and polymeric anthocyanin content were determined using the pH differential method, and total phenolics were measured using the microscale protocol for Folin-Ciocalteau colorimetry. The most predominant anthocyanidins were petunidin-3-coumaroylrutinoside-5-glucoside and pelargonidin-3-coumaroylrutinoside-5-glucoside in purple and red potato extracts, respectively, while chlorogenic acid and its isomers were the main phenolic compound (43% of the total phenolic content). Major quantitative and qualitative differences among evaluated samples were more dependent on the coloration of the extracted sample rather than on the species. In conclusion, appropriate selection of native potatoes could provide new sources of polyphenolic compounds with health promoting properties and natural pigments more stable for food and healthier industry applications.

A set of 18 accessions of this study is available for distribution at the International Potato Center Genebank. The profile of the most abundant phenolic compounds and anthocyanins is shown in this dataset. Also, values of monomeric and polymeric anthocyanin (mg of cyanidin-3-coumaroylrutinoside-5-glucoside equivalents/100 g Dry Weight-DW and pelargonidin-3-coumaroylrutinoside-5-glucoside equivalents/100 g DW) and total phenolic content (mg of gallic acid equivalents/100 g of DW) in potato extracts are available.