Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 49:823–840 (2009) Copyright C  Taylor and Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1040-8398 DOI: 10.1080/10408390903041996 Potatoes and Human Health MARY ELLEN CAMIRE, 1 STAN KUBOW, 2 and DANIELLE J. DONNELLY 3 1 Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, University of Maine, USA 2 School of Dietetics & Human Nutrition, McGill University, QC, Canada 3 Plant Science Department, McGill University, QC, Canada The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber follows only rice and wheat in world importance as a food crop for human consumption. Cultivated potatoes have spread from the Andes of South America where they originated to 160 countries around the world. Consumption of fresh potatoes has declined while processed products have increased in popularity. As the potato becomes a staple in the diets of an increasing number of humans, small differences in potato nutritional composition will have major impacts on population health. The potato is a carbohydrate-rich, energy-providing food with little fat. Potato protein content is fairly low but has an excellent biological value of 90–100. Potatoes are particularly high in vitamin C and are a good source of several B vitamins and potassium. The skins provide substantial dietary fiber. Many compounds in potatoes contribute to antioxidant activity and interest in cultivars with pigmented flesh is growing. This review will examine the nutrient and bioactive compounds in potatoes and their impact on human health. Keywords Cardiovascular disease, glycemic index, chlorogenic acid, obesity This review does not intend to replace the numerous reviews on potato as nutrient or food item but only to summarize the contribution of potato to long-term human health. This humble tuber has sustained many generations and new research has revealed possible directions for breeding programs to enhance the nutritional composition of potatoes to meet the needs of specific groups of consumers. ORIGIN OF POTATO AS HUMAN FOOD The cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) originated in South America where it has been used for food for over 10,000 years (CDC, 1999a) and domesticated during pre-Columbian times over 8,000 years ago (CIP, 2008a). Pre-Columbian food preparation involved the production of chu˜ no, which was used in soups and stews, much as it is still produced in the Andes today (Woolfe, 1987). Harvested potato tubers are piled on the ground and repeatedly frozen over several nights. Skin removal (through trampling) is followed by soaking or leaching in run- ning river water. This serves to remove the bitter flavors caused by glycoalkaloids. The final step involves sun-drying which pre- serves the chu˜ no for up to several years. Another product, papa seca, is produced by boiling, peeling, slicing, then sun-drying and grinding and is also used in stews and soups. Potatoes Maine Agricultural & Forest Experiment Station external publication 3052. Address correspondence to Mary Ellen Camire, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Maine, 5735 Hitchner Hall, Orono, ME, USA, 04469–5735. E-mail: mary.camire@umit.maine.edu were first spread to European countries, including Spain and England, in the late 1500s (CDC, 1999b). The potato may have been instrumental in preventing scurvy among early consumers, including sailors, due to its relatively high vitamin C content (Buckenh¨ uskes, 2005). Potatoes became so widely distributed and important, especially in certain parts of Europe, that they are often referred to as “European” or “Irish” potatoes. Potatoes are now grown in 160 countries (AAFC, 2007) with over 4,000 cultivars (Hils and Pieterse, 2007). Potatoes are eaten fresh or following storage; prepared in a multiplicity of different ways at home or commercially processed into many different foods. Despite its apparent diversity, the cultivated potato contains only a fraction of the potential biodiversity that is present in South American cultivars and cross-compatible wild species (reviewed by Bradshaw, 2007). In a comparison of 205 cul- tivars and 1220 genotypes of wild and cultivated species for dry matter, starch, resistant starch, starch granule diameter, and protein content, Jansen et al. (2001) found more variability in wild than cultivated potatoes for all characters. For this reason, and because the potato genome is known, there exists enor- mous capacity through breeding to improve potato towards an increasingly more healthy food item. The need for new cultivars is primarily driven by goals of stable or improved yields un- der more sustainable growing conditions (primarily lower fuel and fertilizer inputs), environmental stresses, and disease and pest pressures. Where daily per capita availability of nutritious food is below recommended phytochemical intake, diet diver- sification, and improved preparation and processing to increase micronutrient bioavailability is needed (Hanson et al., 2004), 823