Common wild ethnomedicinal tuberous plants of Asia

Abstract

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