Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

Vol. 28, Nov Suppl Issue 2022; Page No.(S353-S361)

COMMON WILD ETHNOMEDICINAL TUBEROUS PLANTS OF ASIA

Bhagyashali Karle, Kevileto Rote, Priya Kumari, Rakhi Gagotia, Sachin Choudhari,B.L. Manjula and Sanjeet Kumar

Abstract

Tuberous plants have always been used as food and medicine since ages. The carbohydrate content andother phytochemical constituents and their tubers make them the best form of nutraceutical. The diversityin the landscape in Asian countries makes the region a good place for the availability of wild tuberousplants. A literature survey and field work has been carried out to find the most common wild medicinaltuberous plants in Asian countries. The results revealed that the most common wild tuberous ethnomedicinalplants belong to the family Zingiberaceae, Araceae, Dioscoreaceae. Identifying these plants could be helpfulas an alternative staple food or to meet the food scarcity during famine. With its potential to be used as anutraceutical, selected tuberous plants can be used in the screening of future drugs.