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Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Dioscorea alata

Dioscorea alata (Dioscoreaceae)

Common Names
Greater Yam; Winged Yam
How this plant is used
Food
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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List of plant chemicals.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Chemical Name Activity Count Plant Part Low Parts Per Million High Parts Per Million Standard Deviation Reference
PHOSPHORUS 4 Root 48.0 2190.0 -0.23 *
POTASSIUM 14 Root 2240.0 15040.0 -0.05 *
PROTEIN 0 Root 11000.0 63085.0 -0.62 *
RIBOFLAVIN 15 Root 0.2 1.1 -0.65 *
SODIUM 1 Root 22.0 335.0 -0.36 *
STARCH 5 Root 159000.0 743000.0 1.79 *
SUCINATES 0 Root *
SUGARS 0 Root 5000.0 35980.0 -0.66 *
SULFUR 14 Root 98.0 990.0 -0.51 *
THIAMIN 31 Root 0.3 1.4 -0.47 *
WATER 0 Root 650000.0 786000.0 0.11 *
ZINC 77 Root 2.0 17.0 -0.31 *
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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List of plant activities.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Activity Chemical Count Reference
Antivertigo 1 *
Antiviral 2 *
Antiviral? 1 Martindale's 29th
Antixerophthalmic 1 Davies, S., and Stewart, A. 1990. Nutritional Medicine. Avon Books, New York. 509pp.
Anxiolytic 4 *
Apoptotic 1 *
Arteriodilator 1 Ozaki, Y. and Ma, J-P. 1989. Inhibitory Effects of Tetramethylpyrazine and Ferulic Acid on Spontaneous Movement of Rat Uterus in Situ. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 38(6): 1620-1623, 1990.
Asthma-preventive 1 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).
Astringent 1 Martindale's 28th
Beta-Adrenergic Receptor Blocker 1 *
Beta-Blocker 2 *
Beta-Glucuronidase-Inhibitor 1 *
Calcium-Antagonist 2 *
Calcium-Channel-Blocker 1 *
Cancer-Preventive 6 Stitt, P. A. Why George Should Eat Broccoli. Dougherty Co, Milwaukee, WI, 1990, 399 pp.
Candidicide 2 Martindale's 28th
Cardiac 1 Ozaki, Y. and Ma, J-P. 1989. Inhibitory Effects of Tetramethylpyrazine and Ferulic Acid on Spontaneous Movement of Rat Uterus in Situ. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 38(6): 1620-1623, 1990.
Cardioprotective 6 *
Cardiotoxic 1 *
Chemopreventive 1 *