Dioscorea ALATA L.


Synonym : Dioscorea javanica Queva
Dioscorea purpurea Roxb.
Elephantodon eburnea (Lour.) Salisb.
Polynome alata (L.) Salisb.
Bangla Name : Chupri Alu, Mete Alu, Kamalu, Kham, Kham-alu.,Raing (Tanchangya).
English Name : Yam, The Greater Yam, Asiatic Yam.
Family : Dioscoreaceae
Disease : Constipation, leprosy, piles, fever, gonorrhea, rash and itch.
Description : A large twinner, tubers roundish or oblong, white inside. Leaves mostly opposite, 7.5-18 cm long, broadly ovate, cuspidately acuminate, subhastately or deeply cordate. Capsule 2.5 x 3.8 cm, broader than long, of two semicircular flat lobes, retuse at the apex.
Distribution : Cultivated throughout Bangladesh.
Chemical Constituents : Tuber contains anthocyanins, steroidal glycosides, cholesterol, campesterol, ?-sitosterol and stigmasterol, diosgenin, sapogenin, alkaloid and starch. It also contains a number of sterols and trans-crotonic, ferulic and palmitic acids (Ghani, 2003).
Uses : The plant is used in constipation. Tubers are anthelmintic, useful in leprosy, piles, fever and gonorrhoea. Leaves are used in rash and itch.
Habit : -