Can sweet potato leaves really sell for several hundred yuan per jin abroad?
Today I heard something really outrageous. Someone said that sweet potato leaves grown on their rooftop at home can actually sell for several hundred yuan per jin abroad! This is way beyond my understanding. Do you all think this is true or false? I quickly went online to check, and it turns out there really is such a thing, but it's not that exaggerated.
On mainstream Chinese e-commerce platforms and community supermarkets, the price of ordinary fresh sweet potato leaves is actually not much different from in China. One pound is about1.79to4.29US dollars, which converts to only3.6to8.7yuan per jin. They are mainly bought by Chinese people to take home for home-style dishes like stir-frying and making soup. But in the high-end market, the price is shockingly high! For example, the purple-leaf sweet potato leaves from the well-known American farmThe Chef's Gardensell for as much as34US dollars per pound, equivalent to about270yuan per jin!
Why is the price gap so large? It turns out that a research team from the University of Tennessee published a paper saying that methanol extracts from sweet potato leaves and stems showed inhibitory effects on breast cancer cells and lung cancer cells in in vitro experiments. In addition, very few people in the United States commercially grow sweet potato leaves, so supply is limited. When this meets hyped-up demand, the price naturally skyrockets! But everyone should not get too excited. This study is only an in vitro cell experiment. To put it plainly, it means taking cancer cells out to do experiments, not actually inside the human body. Whether it has the same effect in humans still needs further research to confirm.
Setting aside the price, sweet potato leaves really do have quite a few benefits, and eating them often is very good for the body. Sweet potato leaves are rich in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. They contain abundant vitaminAand beta-carotene, which help maintain eye health, prevent vision decline and night blindness. For those of us who often look at phones and computers, eating more sweet potato leaves can make our eyes feel much more comfortable. Sweet potato leaves also contain a fair amount of vitaminC, which can brighten the complexion and have a whitening and skin-softening effect. Friends who love beauty should not miss it. Moreover, they also contain chlorophyll, which can speed up the elimination of toxins from the body and help with beauty and skin care.
From the perspective of health benefits, sweet potato leaves are rich in dietary fiber, which can promote intestinal peristalsis, improve constipation, and maintain intestinal health. When the intestines are smooth, the body also feels lighter. They can also regulate blood sugar, making them a good vegetable choice for diabetic patients. The dietary fiber and antioxidants in them can help stabilize blood sugar and reduce insulin resistance. Sweet potato leaves also contain mucin, vitaminCand various antioxidant substances, which can boost the body's immunity, enhance cells' disease resistance, and help us get sick less often.
There are also many ways to eat sweet potato leaves. Stir-frying, cold dressing, and making soup are all delicious. Stir-fried sweet potato leaves are simple and go well with rice; cold-dressed sweet potato leaves are refreshing and tasty, especially suitable for summer; sweet potato leaf soup is fresh and delicious, nutritious and good to drink. Friends who grow sweet potato leaves at home should not waste this treasure. Hurry up and eat them! Those who do not grow them can also go to the vegetable market to buy some and try them. The price is affordable and the nutrition is rich. They are simply a treasure among vegetables!