Dioscorea esculenta (Lour.) Burkill: Uses and bioactivity

Marina Silalahi *

Department of Biology Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Kristen Indonesia, Jl. Mayjen Sutoyo No. 2 Cawang, Jakarta Timur.
 
Research Article
International Journal of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences Archive, 2022, 03(02), 020–025.
Article DOI: 10.53771/ijbpsa.2022.3.2.0037
Publication history: 
Received on 08 March 2022; revised on 19 April 2022; accepted on 21 April 2022
 
Abstract: 
Dioscorea esculenta (Dioscoreaceae) has been long used as an alternative food ingredient and traditional medicine. This panel aims to examine the use of D. esculenta as a food ingredient, traditional medicine and its bioactivity. The research method uses a literature review on various research reports, books, journals obtained online at Google Scholar by using the keywords D. esculenta, uses, and bioactivity D. esculenta. The tubers of D. esculenta are an alternative source of alternative carbohydrates and have been traded in traditional markets, but the supply is relatively small and decreasing. The nutritional content of tuber flour is protein (7.19%), fat (1.10%) dietary fiber (10.16%) inulin (7.49%), and total starch content (71.78%). Ethnomedicinally, D. esculenta tubers are used as antifatigue, anti-inflammatory, anti-stress, anti-spasmodic and immune. The bioactivity of D. esculenta is anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic mellitus, anti-microbial, antioxidant, anti-fertility and anti-cancer. The D. esculenta tubers are very potential to be developed as an alternative food ingredient because they have a good glycemic index and are able to overcome diabetes mellitus.
 
Keywords: 
Diabetes mellitus; Dioscorea esculenta; Alternative food; Traditional medicine
 
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