Dioscorea composita
About
Dioscorea composita, or barbasco, is a species of yam in the family Dioscoreaceae. It is native to Mexico. It is notable for its role in the production of diosgenin, which is a precursor for the synthesis of hormones such as progesterone. Russell Marker developed the extraction and manufacture of hormones from D. mexicana at Syntex, starting the trade of D. composita in Mexico. Marker also discovered that the composita variety had a much higher content of diosgenin than the mexicana variety, and therefore it came to replace the latter in the production of synthetic hormones.
- Family
- Dioscoreaceae
How to use it
Barbasco is primarily used in the production of hormones, particularly progesterone, due to its high diosgenin content. This makes it a valuable plant in the pharmaceutical industry, where it plays a crucial role in synthesizing important hormones for various medical applications.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
In the kitchen
Dioscorea composita, or barbasco, is not typically eaten by humans. Instead, it is primarily valued for its medicinal properties, particularly in hormone production. So, if you're looking for a delicious yam to cook, you might want to choose a different variety!
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Ecology
How it lives
- Propagated by
- Seed
Full detailsevery field on the record, to copy
- Name
- Dioscorea composita
- Slug
- dioscorea-composita
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Family
- Dioscoreaceae
- Genus
- Dioscorea
- Species
- composita
- Wikidata QID
- Q5279583
- Propagule type
- seed
- Container suitable
- No
- Indoor suitable
- No
- OSSI pledged
- No
- Hazard level
- 1
- Data completeness
- 43
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- wikipedia (description.summary) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioscorea_composita