The value of sweet potato is attributed to high
yield, palatability and crude protein content. These
characteristics coupled with high moisture content,
Orodho et al., (1993) make it a suitable protein
supplement for animals receiving low quality forage
in the dry season. Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatasL.
is a common crop, and has high biomass yields of
both tubers and vines. Traditionally, sweet potato is
used as human food, although at present it is
commonly used as feed for farm livestock. The
tubers have high carbohydrate content while the
leaves are rich in protein, and both tubers and vines
can be used as animal feed (Woolfe 1992). The
vines include the leaf and stem, with crude Protein
content in the leaves of 260-330 g/kg DM compared
with 100-140 g/kg DM in the stems (Woolfe 1992;
Ishida et al 2000; Le Van An et al 2003). It has been
shown that the leaves make up approximately half
of the sweet potato vines biomass (Woolfe 1992; Le
Van An et al 2003). Thus, if the leaves could be
separated from the stems a considerable
improvement with respect to the dietary protein and
amino acid supply would be expected (Le Van An
et al 2003)