Physico-functional and microbiological properties of three sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) varieties grown in Korhogo, northern Côte d’Ivoire

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is an important root crop with considerable potential for food diversification and value addition in Côte d'Ivoire.This study evaluated the physico-functional properties and microbiological quality of flour produced from three locally available sweet potato varieties grown and marketed in Korhogo, northern Côte d'Ivoire: white-skinned white-fleshed (WSWF), purpleskinned white-fleshed (PSWF), and yellow-skinned orange-fleshed (YSOF).Tubers were washed, sliced, dried at 60 °C for 48 h, milled and sieved through a 250-µm mesh before analysis.Flour colour, emulsifying activity (EA), oil absorption capacity (OAC), bulk density (BD), foaming capacity (FC), water absorption capacity (WAC), water solubility index (WSI), and microbiological quality were determined using standard or previously published methods.The flours showed bulk densities of 0.68-0.70g/cm³, WAC values of 160.53-166.92%,OAC values of 110.50-118.00%,and FC values of 4.68-5.78%.Significant differences among varieties were observed for colour coordinates and for WAC and WSI (p < 0.05), whereas EA, OAC, BD and FC did not differ significantly.WSWF exhibited the highest WAC (166.92 ± 2.72%) and WSI (26.87 ± 2.88%).Microbiological analyses demonstrated differences in aerobic bacteria, coliforms, faecal coliforms, and yeasts and moulds among the flour samples, while coagulase-positive staphylococci were not detected under the analytical conditions used.The results demonstrate that the three local sweet potato flours Physico-functional….