Yacon: health benefits and technological applications

In the early nineties was introduced in Brazil the yacon potato planting. This tuberous roots have been attracting interest from researchers due to their nutritional and technological properties.Yacon is its mainly characterized by being rich in fructans and phenolic acids, with prebiotic and antioxidant effects, respectively. Many studies in vivo and in vitro were carried out with yacon and products produced from it, showing its health benefits, besides having great technological potential for developing new food products .This review aimed to outline some of these studies, in both health and food technology. The prebiotic potential, glycemic index reduction and improvement of bone health are the effects that stand out in the in vivo researches. It can be noted a trend for bakery products formulations using yacon flour, and the outcomes were positive for both technological properties as well as for sensory evaluations

functional food; Smallanthus sonchifolius; health and food technology