A Wild Medicinal Tuber Crops of Odisha

Dioscorea species:  A Wild Medicinal Tuber Crops of Odisha

Sanjeet Kumar

Department of Botany, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack.

Abstract

Forest plays a vital role in the conservation of biodiversity. It is treasury of several wild foods which could be next supplement in our diet and have ability to fight against food security and different microbial pathogens. Dioscorea a genus represents wild tuber crops which are the major underground food in the forest of Odisha among different tribal community. And used as wild economic tuber crops as well as traditional medicine.

Key words: Dioscorea species, Wild tuber crops, Medicinal value

Introduction 

Many infectious diseases are known to be treated with herbal remedies throughout the history of mankind. Plants still continue to be almost the exclusive source of antimicrobial compounds for the majority of the world’s population. The WHO reported that 80 % of the worlds populations rely chiefly on traditional medicine and a major part of the traditional therapies involve the use of plant as a anti microbial agents against various types of infections caused by microbes. Discovery of antimicrobial compounds were one of the most important findings of the 20th century. These natural compounds found in many plants have been used to treat human diseases caused by various microbes. Therefore now pick up another thread through the web of Paul Ehrlich, that some natural compounds inhibit the microbes, but not the patients, thus curing the illness. Hence over the last decade, there has been rapid growth in the use of alternative medicines. Natural products, including many plants traditionally used as medicinal herbs against microbial infections are being reevaluated as key components in future microbiological science. Odisha the most picturesque state in eastern India occupies a unique place in the tribal map of the country having largest number of tribal communities (62) including 13 primitive tribes, with a population of 8.15 million constituting 22.3 % of state’s population. Almost all tribal groups have been using Dioscorea species as popular traditional medicinal tubers that are generally taken alone or in multiple herb formulation. Some biological effect of Dioscorea species, including the ant-oxidative and anti-microbial activities has been reported (Kaladhar, 2002). Wild tubers are highly acrid and cause irritation in throat and mouth due to excessive amount of calcium oxalate present in tubers still than tribal peoples using more and more wild tubers as a food and traditional medicine with traditional method of processing, therefore systematic rigorous scientific studies of frequently used tubers are needed

Botany of Dioscorea species

It is a climbing, rarely erect herbs or shrubs; rootstock tuberous or with a hard rhizome and tuberous roots. Leaves opposite or alternate, sometimes both on the same plant, simple, lobed or digitely 3-9-foliolate, palminerved and reticulately veined; petiole often angular and twisted at the base. Flowers regular, small or minute, usually monoecious or dioecious, rarly bisexual, in spikes, racemes or panicles. Perianth tubular, urceolate or rotate, 6- cleft, often shortly connate below. Male flowers : stamens 3 or 6, or 3 perfect wuth 3 alternating ataminodes, inserted at the base of the perianth or on its lobes; anthers small. Pistillode sometimes present. Female flowers : Staminodes 6, 3 or 0. Ovary inferior, triquetrous, usually 3-celled; ovules 2, superposed per cell; style 3, short; stigma entire or 2- fid, recurved. Fruit a berry or a 3- valved capsule. Seeds flat or subglobose, winged or not.

Table 1: Local Name and synonyms of major Dioscorea species in Odisha.

Dioscorea species	Local name	Synonyms	Frequency
D.alata  L.	Khambo alu,	D.globosa Roxb.	++++
D. belophylla   Voigt. ex Haines	Kunda alu,	D.glabra auct. Non Roxb.	++
D. bulbifera L.	Pita Kanda	D.sativa Thunb.	+++
D. glabra Roxb.	Konta alu,	---------------------	++
D. hamiltonii Hook.	Suta alu	----------------------	++
D. hispida Dennst.	Banya alu,	D. daemona Roxb.	++
D. oppositifolia L.	Pani alu,	----------------------	+++
D. pentaphylla L.	Mundi alu.,	----------------------	++
D. puber Bl. Enum.	Kosa alu	D. anguina Roxb.	++++
D. wallichii Hook.f.	Suta alu,	D. aculeate L.	++