Abstract
The major reserve compounds of tubers (starch, soluble carbohydrates, proteins and non-soluble fibers) of five native Dioscorea species are analyzed with a view to their economic importance (for the staple food and pharmaceutical industries); distribution, phenology and germination are also investigated. Twenty-six native species and the cultivated edible exotics are listed, with phenological characteristics, popular name, habitat, popular medicinal importance and distribution.
Resumen
Os principals compostos de reserva de tubérculos (amido, carboidratos solúveis, proteinas efibras não solúveis) de 5 espécies de Dioscorea nativas são analisados devido à importância econômica deste grupo (alimentação e indústria farmacêutica) bem como sua distribuição, fenologia e germinação. Vinte e seis espécies nativas e as exóticas descritas como alimentares são listadas com algumas de suas caracteristicas fenológicas, nomes populares, habitats, importància na medicina popular e sua distribuição.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Akahori, A., K. Kagawa, M. Togami, andI. Iwao. 1977. Seasonal changes of sapogenin content in third-year plants of tokoroMakino. Chem. Pharm. Bull. (Tokyo) 25:2172–2180.
Albersheim, P., D. J. Nevins, P. D. English, andA. Karr. 1967. A method for the analysis of sugar in plant cell-wall polysaccharides by gas-liquid chromatography. Carb. Res. 5:340–345.
Al-Shehbaz, I. A., andB. G. Schubert. 1989. The Dioscoreaceae in southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 70:57–95.
Ammirato, P. V. 1984. Yams. Pages 327–354in P. V. Ammirato et al., eds., Handbook of plant cell culture. Vol. 3. Crop species. Macmillan, New York.
Angely,J. 1965. Flora Analitica do Paraná. Ed. Phyton, Curitiba.
—. 1970. Flora Analitica e Fitogeográfica do Estado de São Paulo. Ed. Phyton, São Paulo.
Archibald, E. E. A. 1967. The genus Dioscorea in the Cape Province West of East London. J. S. African Bot. 33:1–46.
Ayensu, E. S. 1972. Dioscoreales. Pages 1–182in C. R. Metcalfe, ed., Anatomy of monocotyledons. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
—, andD. G. Coursey. 1972. Guinea yams. The botany, ethnobotany, use, and possible future of yams in West Africa. Econ. Bot. 26:301–318.
Baquar, S. R., andO. L. Oke. 1976. Protein in Nigerian yams (Dioscorea spp.). Nutr. Rep. Int. 14: 237–248.
Barroso, G. M., J. B. da Silva, D. Sucre, E. F. Guimarães, L. F. de Carvalho, F. R. T. Rosenthal, C. M. Barbosa, M. C. Valente, J. D. e Silva, A. N. Roseira, O. M. Barth, andA. F. Barbosa. 1974. Flora Guanabara. Familia Dioscoreaceae. Sellowia 25:9–256.
Bitter, T., andH. M. Muir. 1962. A modified uronic acid carbazole reaction. Anal. Biochem. 4:330–334.
Burkill, I. H. 1960. Organography and evolution of Dioscoreaceae, the family of the yams. J. Linn. Soc, Bot. 56:319–412.
Chailakhyan, M. Kh. 1985. Hormonal regulation of reproductive development in higher plants. Biol. Plant. (Prague) 27:292–302.
Chan, H. L., Jr., ed. 1973. Handbook of tropical foods. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York.
Chu, E. P. 1989 Composição bioquimica de orgãos subterrâneos de reserva de espécies nativas deDioscorea e anâlise do desenvolvimento deDioscorea delicata R. Knuth. M.S. Thesis, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (in Portuguese).
—, andR. C. L. Figueiredo-Ribeiro. 1986. Polissacarideos hemicelulósicos de tubérculos deDioscorea delicata R. Knuth eD. olfersiana Kl.: composição e alterações durante o desenvolvimento. Hoehnea 13:87–94.
Correll, D. S., B. G. Schubert, H. S. Gentry, andW. O. Hawley. 1955. The search for plant precursors of cortisone. Econ. Bot. 9:307–375.
Coursey, D. G. 1967. Yams. An account of the nature, origins, cultivation, and utilization of the useful members of dioscoreaceae. Longmans, London.
—. 1976. Yams. Pages 70–74 in N. W. Simmonds, ed., Evolution of crop plants. Longman, London.
Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants. Columbia Univ. Press, New York.
Dahlgren, R. M. T., H. T. Clifford, andP. F. Yeo. 1985. The families of the monocotyledons. Structure, evolution, and taxonomy. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Degras, L. 1976. Vegetative and sexual management in food yam improvement. Pages 58–62in J. Cock et al., eds., Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium of the International Society for Tropical Root Crops. Cali, Colombia.
Dubois, M., K. A. Gilles, J. K. Hamilton, P. A. Rebes, andF. Smith. 1956. Colorimetric method for determinations of sugars and related substances. Anal. Chem. 28:350–356.
Figueiredo-Ribeiro, R. C. L., S. M. C. Dietrich, E. P. Chu, M. A. Machado de Carvalho, C. C. J. Vieira, andT. T. Graziano. 1986. Reserve carbohydrates in underground organs of native Brazilian plants. Revta Brasil. Bot. 9:159–166.
Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica. 1990. Atlas dos remanescentes florestais do Dominio Mata Atlântica. la. ed. Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica, INPE and IBAMA, São Paulo, Brazil.
Garner, W. W., andH. A. Allard. 1923. Further studies in photoperiodism, the response of the plant to relative length of day and night. J. Agric. Res. 23: 871–920.
Gershenzon, J., andT. J. Mabry. 1983. Secondary metabolites and the higher classification of Angiosperms. Nord. J. Bot. 3:5–34.
Gregory, L. E. 1965. Physiology of tuberization in plants (tubers and tuberous roots). Pages 1328–1354in W. Ruhland, ed., Encyclopedia of plant physiology. Vol. 15, part 1. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Hahn, S. K. 1984. Tropical root crops. Their improvement and utilization. Pages 1–28in Conference Paper 2. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (UTA). Ibadan, Nigeria.
Hernández-Xolocotzi, E. 1972. Utilización de los recursos naturales del tropico de México con relatión a la productión de Dioscorea composita Hemsl. Publ. Esp. Inst. Nac. Invest. For. Mex. 8:123–130.
Heywood, V. H. 1985. Flowering plants of the World. Croom Helm, London.
Hori, Y. 1989. Life history and population dynamics of the Japanese yam, Dioscorea japonica Thunb. II. Adaptative significance of the emergence mode. Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 102:1–8.
—, andY. Oshima. 1986. Life history and population dynamics of the Japanese yam.Dioscorea japonica Thunb. I. Effects of initial plant size and light intensity on growth. Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 99: 407–418.
Ireland, C. R., andH. C. Passam. 1985. Effect of exogenous batatasin, batatasin analogues and gibberellins on the dormancy of stored yam tubers. Trop. Agric. (Trinidad) 62:41–46.
—,W. W. Schwabe, andD. G. Coursey. 1981. The occurrence of batatasins in the Dioscoreaceae. Phytochemistry (Oxf.) 20:1569–1571.
Janzen, D. H. 1980. Ecologia vegetal nos tròpicos. EPU and Ed. Univ. São Paulo, São Paulo.
Jams, M. C., andH. J. Ducan. 1974. Paper chromatography of plant sugars. J. Chromatogr. 92:454–456.
Ketiku, A. O., andV. A. Oyenuga. 1973. Changes in carbohydrate constituents of yam tuber (Dioscorea rotundata Poir.) during growth. J. Sci. Food Agric. 24:367–373.
Kiho, T., C. Hara, andS. Ukai. 1985. Aglucomannan from the tubers ofDioscorea japonica Thunb. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 33:270–275.
Leija, L. A. G. 1972. Avance en las investigaciones basicas sobre comportamiento deDioscorea composita Hemsl. para su propagatión. Publ. Esp. Inst. Nac. Invest. For. Mex. 8:111–122.
Loomis, R. S., and H. Rapoport. 1976. Productivity of root crops. Pages 70–84in J. Cock et al., eds., Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium of the International Society for Tropical Root Crops. Cali, Colombia.
Martin, F. W. 1972. Potencialidades para mejorar los ñames que contienen sapogeninas. Publ. Esp. Inst. Nac. Invest. For. Mex. 8:89–110.
-. 1974a. Tropical yams and their potential. Part 1.Dioscorea esculenta. USDA Agric. Handbook 457.
-. 1974b. Tropical yams and their potential. Part 2.Dioscorea bulbifera. USDA Agric. Handbook 466.
-. 1976. Tropical yams and their potential. Part 3.Dioscorea alata. USDA Agric. Handbook 485.
-, and L. Degras. 1978. Tropical yams and their potential. Part 5. Dioscorea trifida. USDA Agric. Handbook 522.
—, andS. Ortiz. 1963. Origin and anatomy of tuber of Dioscorea floribunda and D. spiculiflora. Bot. Gaz. 124:416–421.
-, and S. Sadik. 1977. Tropical yams and their potential. Part 4. Dioscorea rotundata and Dioscorea cayenensis. USDA Agric. Handbook 502.
McCready, R. M., J. Guggolz, S. Silveira, andH. G. Owens. 1950. Determination of starch and amylose in vegetables. Application to peas. Anal. Chem. 22:1156–1158.
McManus, J. F. A., andR. W. Mowry. 1960. Staining methods histology and histochemical. Hoeber Int. Reprint, New York.
Medina, E. 1983. Adaptations of tropical trees to moisture stress. Pages 225–237 in F. B. Golley, ed., Ecosystems of the world. 14 A. Tropical rain forest ecosystems—structure and function. Elsevier Scientific Publ. Co., Amsterdam.
Meier, H., andJ. S. Reid. 1982. Reserve polysaccharides other than starch in higher plants. Pages 418–471 in F. A. Loewus and W. Tanner, eds., Plant carbohydrates. I. Intracellular carbohydrates, Encyclopedia of plant physiology, new series 13A. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Melis, R. J. M., andJ. Van Staden. 1984. Tuberization and hormones. Z. Pflanzenphysiol. 113:271–283.
NAS (National Academy of Sciences). 1975. Underexploited tropical plants with promising economic value. NAS, Washington, DC.
Okagami, N. 1986. Dormancy in Dioscorea: different temperature adaptation of seeds, bulbils and subterranean organs in relation to north-south distribution. Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 99:15–27.
Okezie, C. E. A., F. I. Onwoke, andS. N. C. Okonkwo. 1986. Field studies on the growth pattern of Dioscorea rotundata Poir. propagated by seed. Trop. Agric. (Trinidad) 63:22–24.
Onwueme, I. C. 1978. The tropical tuber crops. Yams, cassava, sweet potato and cocoyams. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.
Pacheco, L. L. O. 1972. Cultivo de tijidos obtenidos a partir del tuberculo de Dioscorea composita Hemsl. Publ. Esp. Inst. Nac. Invest. For. Mex. 8:51–73.
Peckolt, T., andG. Peckolt. 1871. Història das plantas medicinais e úteis do Brazil. Laemmert, Rio de Janeiro.
Philip, T., G. N. Srivastava, andP. Singh. 1980. Diagnostic characters of tropical Dioscorea. Pharmacognostic study of some common Indian Dioscoreacea. Part 1. Q. J. Crude Drug Res. 18:169–184.
Pio Corrèa, M. 1931. Diccionàrio das plantas úteis do Brasil e das Exóticas cultivadas. Ministèrio da Agriculture, Rio de Janeiro.
Preston, W. H., Jr.,J. R. Haun, J. W. Garvin, andR. J. Daum. 1964. Several aspects of growth, development and sapogenin yield of tubers of Dioscorea spiculiflora. Econ. Bot. 18:323–328.
Prince, K. R., I. T. Johnson, andG. R. Fenwick. 1987. The chemistry and biological significance of saponins in food and feedingstuffs. CRC Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 26:27–135.
Purseglove, J. W. 1972. Tropical crops. Vol. 2. Monocotyledons. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Rishi, A. K., R. Kapoor, andV. K. Vakhlu. 1976. A rapid spectrophotometric method for the quantitative determination of diosgenin in Dioscorea tubers. Curr. Sci. (Bangalore) 45:327–328.
Rizzini, C. T., andW. B. Mors. 1976. Botànica Econòmica Brasileira. EPU and EDUSP, São Paulo.
Sadik, S. 1976. A review of sexual propagation for yam improvement. Pages 40–44 in J. Cock et al., eds., Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium of the International Society for Tropical Root Crops. Cali, Colombia.
—, andO. U. Okereke. 1975. Flowering, pollen grain germination, fruiting, seed germination and seedling development of white yam, Dioscorea rotundata Poir. Ann. Bot. (Lond.) 39:597–604.
Sawardeker, J. S., J. H. Slonecker, andA. Jeanes. 1965. Quantitative determination of monosaccharides as their alditol acetates by gas-liquid chromatography. Analyt. Chem. 37:1602–1604.
Schubert, B. G. 1972. Aspects of taxonomy in the genus Dioscorea. Publ. Esp. Inst. Nac. Invest. For. Mex. 8:29–42.
Sefa-Dedeh, S., andV. F. Rasper. 1977. Water-soluble nonstarchy polysaccharides of composite flours. I. Chemical nature of polysaccharides from yam (Dioscorea) and cassava flours. Cereal Chem. 54: 746–759.
Silva, N. F., P. L. B. Lisbôa, andR. C. L. Lisbôa. 1977. Nomes vulgares de plantas Amazônicas. INPA, Belém, Brazil.
Smith, B. W. 1937. Notes on the cytology and distribution of the Dioscoreaceae. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club. 64:189–197.
Snedecor, G. W. 1962. Statistical methods applied to experiments in agriculture and biology. Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames.
Somogyi, M. 1945. A new reagent for the determination of sugars. J. Biol. Chem. 160:61–68.
Splittstoesser, W. E., F. W. Martin, andA. M. Rhodes. 1973. The amino acid composition of five species of yam (Dioscorea). J. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 98:563–567.
Swain, T. 1977. Secondary compounds as protective agents. Annual Rev. Plant Physiol. 28:479–501.
Terui, K., andN. O. Okagami. 1989. Dormancy in Dioscorea: rapid germination of detached embryos from dormant seeds of D. tokoro. Plant Cell Physiol. 30:287–293.
Trevelyan, N. E., D. P. Procter, andJ. S. Harrison. 1950. Detection of sugars on papers chromatograms. Nature (Lond.) 166:444–445.
Umbreit, W. W., R. H. Burris, andJ. E. Stanfer. 1964. Manometric techniques. Burges Publ. Co., Minnesota.
Viana, A. M., andG. M. Felippe. 1986. Efeitos de luz e temperatura na germinação de Dioscorea composita. Revta Brasil. Bot. 9:109–115.
—, andS. H. Mantel. 1989. Callus induction and plant regeneration from excised zygotic embryos of the seed-propagated yams Dioscorea composita Hemsl. and D. cayenensis Lam. Plant Cell, Tissue Organ Culture 16:113–122.
Vietmeyer, N. D. 1986. Lesser-known plants of potential use in agriculture and forestry. Science (Wash. DC.) 232:1379–1384.
Vince-Prue, D. 1985. Photoperiodism in plants. McGraw Hill, London.
—. 1955. Photoperiod and hormones. Pages 262–275 in R. P. Pharis and D. M. Reid, eds., Hormonal regulation of development. III. Role of environmental factors, Encyclopedia of plant physiology, new series 11. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Von Teichman und Logischen, P. J. Robbertse, andH. P. van der Schijff. 1977. The subterranean intermediary organs of Dioscorea cotinifolia Kunth: 1. The germination, development, morphology and vegetative reproduction of the tuberous swollen and cylindrical intermediary organs. J. S. African Bot. 43:41–56.
Wardlaw, I. F. 1968. The control and pattern of movement of carbohydrates in plants. Bot. Rev. 34:79–105.
Wickham, L. D., H. C. Passam, andL. A. Wilson. 1984. Tuber development, storage, and germination in yams (Dioscorea spp.) in response to preharvest application of plant growth regulators. J. Agric. Sci. 102:437–442.
Wilkins, M. B., ed. 1984. Advanced plant physiology. Pitman Press, Bath.
Wilson, L. A. 1986. Dioscorea. Pages 450–454 in A. H. Harlevy, ed., CRC handbook of flowering. Vol. II. CRC Press, Florida.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chu, E.P., Figueiredo-Ribeiro, R.C.L. Native and exotic species of dioscorea used as food in brazil. Econ Bot 45, 467–479 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02930709
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02930709