Bioscience Evidence 2026, Vol.16, No.4, 329-344 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 329 Feature Review Open Access Research Progress on Nutritional Quality, Bioactive Compounds, and Production Utilization of Colored Potatoes XuweiWang 1 , Junting Ye 2 1 Ningbo Agricultural Technology Extension Station, Ningbo, 315012, Zhejiang, China 2 Agricultural and Rural Office of Qiaotou Town, Cixi City, Cixi, 315317, Zhejiang, China Corresponding email: wxwnbcn88@zuaa.zju.edu.cn Bioscience Evidence, 2026, Vol.16, No.4 doi: 10.5376/be.2026.16.0025 Received: 18 Jul., 2026 Accepted: 20 Aug., 2026 Published: 27 Aug., 2026 Copyright © 2026 Wang and Ye, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Wang X.W., and Ye J.T., 2026, Research progress on nutritional quality, bioactive compounds, and production utilization of colored potatoes, Bioscience Evidence, 16(4): 329-344 (doi: 10.5376/be.2026.16.0025) Abstract Colored potatoes have attracted increasing attention in the fields of food nutrition, agricultural production, and functional product development due to their rich nutritional composition and high levels of bioactive compounds. This review focuses on the differences among purple-, red-, and yellow-fleshed potatoes in major nutritional traits, including starch, dry matter, and protein content, and analyzes the effects of genotype, ecological environment, cultivation practices, storage conditions, and processing methods on quality formation and bioactive compound accumulation. Purple- and red-fleshed potatoes generally contain higher levels of anthocyanins, total phenolics, and antioxidant capacity, whereas yellow-fleshed potatoes are characterized by higher carotenoid accumulation. However, high concentrations of functional compounds do not necessarily correspond to higher yield, dry matter content, or better processing suitability. Therefore, cultivar selection for colored potatoes should consider nutritional value, eating quality, production adaptability, and processing requirements simultaneously. This review summarizes the application potential of colored potatoes in fresh consumption, staple food products, snack foods, natural colorants, and functional ingredients. Future research should focus on the breeding of high-quality cultivars, region-specific production evaluation, sustainable cultivation practices, and nutrient-retention processing technologies, providing references for the efficient utilization and industrial development of colored potato resources. Keywords Colored potatoes; Nutritional quality; Bioactive compounds; Production utilization; Difference analysis 1 Introduction Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most widely consumed food crops worldwide and remains an important staple food for a large proportion of the global population. In addition to providing dietary energy, potato tubers are rich in carbohydrates, high-quality proteins, essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, making them an important component of global food and nutrition systems (Dessì et al., 2025). Potato germplasm resources are highly diverse, with approximately 5 000 cultivated varieties reported worldwide. Among these, an increasing number of red-, purple-, blue-fleshed, and other colored-flesh or colored-skin cultivars have attracted extensive attention from both scientific and industrial communities in recent years. Moreover, potato processing generates large amounts of by-products, while potato peels contain abundant valuable compounds, including polyphenols, vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, and dietary fibers, indicating considerable potential for further utilization (Sampaio et al., 2021b). Red- and purple-fleshed potatoes generally contain significantly higher levels of total phenolics, anthocyanins, and antioxidant activity than white- and yellow-fleshed potatoes. Some studies have reported that their antioxidant capacity or total phenolic content can be two to three times higher than that of conventional potato varieties (Polivanova and Gins, 2019). Anthocyanins are the most representative bioactive compounds in colored potatoes and are responsible for the red to purple coloration of tuber skin and flesh (Bandana et al., 2025). The composition of anthocyanins differs markedly among color types. Red-fleshed potatoes are mainly characterized by pelargonidin- and peonidin-based derivatives, whereas purple-fleshed potatoes are rich in petunidin-, malvidin-, delphinidin-, and cyanidin-derived anthocyanins, which commonly occur in acylated forms (Lachman and Hamouz, 2005).
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