Dioscorea contains critically important species which can be used as staple foods or sources of bioactive substances, including Dioscorea nipponica, which has been used to develop highly successful drugs to treat cardiovascular disease. Its major active ingredients are thought to be sterol compounds such as diosgenin, which has been called "medicinal gold" because of its valuable properties. Ho...

Badnaviruses (family Caulimoviridae, genus Badnavirus) have emerged as serious pathogens especially affecting the cultivation of tropical crops. Badnavirus sequences can be integrated in host genomes, complicating the detection of episomal infections and the assessment of viral genetic diversity in samples containing a complex mixture of sequences. Yam (Dioscorea spp.) plants are hosts to a div...

The antioxident effects of crude mucilages (CM) and partially purified mucilages (PPM) from three different Taiwanese yam cultivars—including Dioscorea alata L. cv. Tainong 1 (TN1), Dioscorea alata L. cv. Tainong 2 (TN2), and D. alata L. var. purpurea (Roxb.) Ming-Jen (MJ)—were evaluated, including 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, hydroxyl radical, and superoxide radical scavenging...

Dioscorea species continue to be used in traditional Chinese medicine, and represent a major source of steroid precursors for conventional medicine. In the previous study, We isolated glycoprotein (GDB) from Dioscorea batatas, characterized, and demonstrated immunostimulating activity in C57BL/6 mice. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism whereby GDB activates macrophages. Macr...

DA-9801, a mixture of extracts from Dioscorea japonica Thunb. and Dioscorea nipponica Makino, was reported to have neurotrophic activity. Therefore, we investigated the therapeutic potential of DA-9801, in comparison with alpha lipoic acid (ALA), for peripheral nerves preservation in experimental diabetes. Experimental animals were divided into 4 groups, and each group was designated according ...

Yams (Dioscorea spp.) consist of approximately 600 species. Presently, these species are threatened by genetic erosion due to many factors such as pest attacks and farming practices. In parallel, complex taxonomic boundaries in this genus makes it more challenging to properly address the genetic diversity of yam and manage its germplasm. As a first step toward evaluating and preserving the gene...

BACKGROUND Monascus-fermented products are mentioned in an ancient Chinese pharmacopoeia of medicinal food and herbs. Monascus-fermented products offer valuable therapeutic benefits and have been extensively used in East Asia for several centuries. Several biological activities of Monascus-fermented products were recently described, and the extract of Monascus-fermented products showed strong a...

Enterobacter cloacae strains CAPREx E7 and CAPREx E2-2 were isolated from Ghanaian yams at a London market. The draft genome sequences indicate that the two strains are similar, with genomes of 5,042,838 and 5,039,930 bp and 56.19% and 55.05% G+C content, respectively. Both strains encoded three different β-lactamases, including one of the AmpC family.

Lobrathiumjianqingi sp. n. (Guangxi: Shiwanda Shan) and Lobrathiumatanggei sp. n. (Yunnan: Nabanhe) from southwest China are described and illustrated.

Loss of varietal diversity is a worldwide challenge to crop species at risk for genetic erosion, while the loss of biological resources may hinder future breeding objectives. Loss of varieties has been mostly investigated in traditional agricultural systems where variety numbers are dramatically high, or for most economically important crop species for which comparison between pre-intensive and...