Anthocyanins and polyphenols in the sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L.) have attracted attention due to their multiple physiological functions. Therefore, sweetpotato breeders have focused on increasing the anthocyanin and polyphenol contents. In this study, we investigated the diversity of anthocyanins, polyphenols, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activities in sweetpotato genotypes. We also assessed how the anthocyanin and polyphenol contents and compositions were related to DPPH radical-scavenging activities during tuber growth in several cultivars of sweetpotatoes. In six purple-fleshed cultivars, the percentage of acylated anthocyanins that were evaluated was high (92.0–98.5 %), whereas in ‘Fukumurasaki’ this percentage was particularly low (63.6 %). Moreover, the percentages of anthocyanins that were acylated in the purple-fleshed cultivars ‘Tanegashimamurasaki’, ‘Purple Sweet Lord’, and ‘Akemurasaki’ had already reached high levels in the early stage of tuber development. On the other hand, these three cultivars with high anthocyanin contents had high DPPH radical-scavenging activities, and the activities during tuber growth showed a high correlation with total anthocyanin content. Elucidating the changes in acylated anthocyanin content and in antioxidant activities during tuber growth can help promote high-quality sweetpotato cultivation and breeding.

甘薯（番薯属）中的花色苷和多酚。L.）由于具有多种生理功能而备受关注。因此，甘薯育种者一直致力于增加花色苷和多酚含量。在这项研究中，我们调查了甜薯基因型中花色苷，多酚和2,2-二苯基-1-吡啶并肼基（DPPH）自由基清除活性的多样性。我们还评估了甘薯几个品种的块茎生长过程中花色苷和多酚含量及其组成与DPPH自由基清除活性之间的关系。在六个紫色肉质品种中，被评估的酰化花色苷比例很高（92.0％至98.5％），而在“ Fukumurasaki”中，这一比例特别低（63.6％）。此外，在紫色果肉品种“ Tanegashimamurasaki”中被酰化的花色苷的百分比，在块茎发育的早期，“紫色的甜蜜领主”和“赤村崎”已经达到了很高的水平。另一方面，这三个花色苷含量高的品种具有较高的DPPH清除自由基活性，块茎生长过程中的活性与总花色苷含量具有高度相关性。阐明块茎生长过程中酰化花色苷含量和抗氧化活性的变化可有助于促进优质甘薯的栽培和育种。