Dioscorea opposita

Dioscorea Opposita

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Dioscorea opposita

Dioscorea opposita (nagaimo, yamaimo, Chinese yam, Japanese mountain yam, Korean yam; syn.

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Dioscorea opposita (nagaimo, yamaimo, Chinese yam, Japanese mountain yam, Korean yam; syn. D. batatas, D. oppositifolia) is a type of yam

Yam (vegetable)

Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea .These are perennial plant herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania....
(Dioscorea
Dioscorea

Dioscorea is a genus of over 600 species of flowering plants in the family Dioscoreaceae, native throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world....
) that may be eaten raw.

In Japanese, it is known as yamaimo (kanji: ??; hiragana: ????). Furthermore, yamaimo is classified into nagaimo (kanji: ??

Wang Fei may refer to:*Faye Wong, with Chinese name Wang Fei, a Beijing-born pop singer*Wang Fei , a guqin player of Chinese descent*Wang Fei , female Chinese beach volleyball player...
; hiragana: ????), ichoimo (kanji: hiragana: ??????), or yamatoimo (kanji: ???; hiragana: ?????), depending on root shapes. Jinenjyo (kanji: ???; hiragana: ?????) is another kind of Dioscorea opposite, which is native to fields and mountains in Japan.
In Chinese it is known as huái shan, shan yào, or huái shan yào. In Korea it is called ma (hangul: ?; hanja: ?).

Dioscorea opposita is an exception to the rule that yams must be cooked before consumption (due to harmful substances in the raw state). In Japanese cuisine

Japanese cuisine

Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of Shogun rule....
, it is eaten raw and grated, after only a relatively minimal preparation: the whole tuber

Tuber

Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to overwinter and regrow the next year and as a means of asexual reproduction....
s are briefly soaked in a vinegar-water solution, to neutralize irritant oxalate

Oxalate

An oxalate is the deprotonated, charged form of oxalic acid or an ester of oxalic acid. As a salt, the oxalate anion has the chemical formula C2O42- or 22-....
crystals found in their skin. The raw vegetable is starchy and bland, mucilaginous when grated, and may be eaten plain as a side dish, or added to noodles.

Dioscorea opposita is used in the Japanese noodle dish tororo udon
Udon

is a type of thick wheat-flour noodle popular in Japanese cuisine.Udon is usually served hot as noodle soup in a mildly flavoured broth, in its simplest form as kake udon, served in kakejiru made of dashi, soy sauce , and mirin....
/soba
Soba

File:Preparing Soba 06 cutting.jpg is a type of thin Japanese cuisine noodle made from buckwheat flour. It is served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup....
. The grated nagaimo is known as tororo (in Japanese). In tororo udon/soba, the tororo is mixed with other ingredients that typically include tsuyu broth (dashi

Dashi

Dashi is a class of soup and cooking stocks considered fundamental to Japanese cuisine. Shizuo Tsuji wrote in 1980 that "many substitutes for dashi are possible, but without dashi, dishes are merely a la japonaise and lack the authentic flavor." Dashi forms the base for miso soups, clear broth soups, Japanese noodle broths, and ma...
), wasabi

Wasabi

Wasabi is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages, horseradish and Mustard plant. Known as "Japanese horseradish", its root is used as a spice and has an extremely strong flavour....
, and green onion

Green onion

Green onion can refer to:*Scallion, various members of the genus Allium that lack a fully developed bulb*"Green Onions", a hit 1962 soul instrumental by Booker T....
s. Jinenjo (Dioscorea japonica, also called wild yam) is related variety of Japanese yam that is used as an ingredient in soba
Soba

File:Preparing Soba 06 cutting.jpg is a type of thin Japanese cuisine noodle made from buckwheat flour. It is served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup....
noodles.

Nutrition Information

The basic nutrition (nutrient) information of Dioscorea opposite is as below:
Nutrient composition (per 100g)

Energy: 65 kcal
Water: 82.6g
Protein
Protein

Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
: 2.2g
Lipid
Lipid

Lipids are broadly defined as any fat-soluble , naturally-occurring molecule, such as fats, oils, waxes, cholesterol, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins , monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others....
: 0.3g
Carbohydrate
Carbohydrate

Carbohydrates or saccharides are the most abundant of the four major classes of biomolecules. They fill numerous roles in living things, such as the storage and transport of energy and structural components ....
: 13.9g
Fiber
Fiber

Fiber or fibre is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of yarn. They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissue s together....
: 1.0g

The mucilaginous component of Dioscorea opposite is a complex of some soluble fibers. One is mucin

Mucin

Mucins are a family of high molecular weight, heavily glycosylation proteins produced by many epithelial tissues in vertebrates. Although some mucins are cell membrane-bound due to the presence of a hydrophobic membrane-spanning domain that favors retention in the plasma membrane, most mucins are secretion onto mucosae or secreted to become...
, which is effective in nourishing and relieving fatigue because it protects mucous membranes and braking protein down so that it is easily metabolized. In addition, it improves constipation and reduces cholesterol

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a lipidic, waxy alcohol found in the cell membranes and transported in the blood plasma of all animals. It is an essential component of mammalian cell membranes where it is required to establish proper membrane permeability and membrane fluidity....
levels. Another component is dioscorine, which inhibits from absorbing glucose

Glucose

Glucose , a monosaccharide also known as grape sugar, blood sugar, or corn sugar, is a very important carbohydrate in biology....
in small intestine and is good for controlling blood glucose levels. Dioscorea opposite is rich in starch degrading enzymes; amylase

Amylase

Amylase is an enzyme that breaks starch down into sugar. Amylase is present in human saliva, where it begins the chemical process of digestion....
and diastase

Diastase

A diastase is any one of a group of enzymes which catalysis the breakdown of starch into maltose. It was the first type of enzyme discovered, in 1833, by Anselme Payen, who found it in malt solution....
. Because of these enzymes people eat Dioscorea opposite raw, and they improve one's metabolism and blood circulation.

Non-food uses

The jelly-like substance made from grating the yam, tororojiru , is often served in, or alongside, a number of other dishes. Interestingly, perhaps, this was widely used in the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of History of Japan running from 1603 to 1868. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu....
as a personal lubricant

Personal lubricant

Personal lubricants are specialized lubricants which serve, during sexual acts , to reduce friction with the penis, vagina, anus or other body parts....
for sexual activities, and it was thus considered improper for it to be eaten by a woman. This aversion also derives from the loud slurping sound one makes when eating it, which is considered to be un-ladylike. However, now in Japan, it is usually accepted that women eat tororojiru with that kind of sound.

Medicinal uses

The tuber is also used (often in dried form) in traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine includes a range of traditional medicine practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medicine system in much of the western world....
and Chinese herbology

Chinese herbology

Chinese Herbology , is the common name for the subject of Chinese materia medica. It includes the basic theory of Chinese materia medica, "crude medicine," "prepared drug in pieces" and traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations' source, collection and preparation, performance, efficacy, and clinical applications....
.

External links

(Plants For A Future)
(Australian New Crops)
(Australian New Crops)

Dioscorea opposita

Nutrition Information

Non-food uses

Medicinal uses

See also

External links