Dioscorea zingiberensis, is a species of yam, a tuberous root vegetable. It has been cultivated in China for the production of diosgenin,Liu, L., Dong, Y., 375 Xiu, Z., 2010. Three-liquid-phase extraction of diosgenin and steroidal saponins from fermentation of Dioscorea zingibernsis C.H. Wright. Process Biochemistry 45, 752–756. an important pharmaceutical intermediate for the synthesis of steroid hormones.Wang, Y., Liu, H., Bao, J., Hong, Y., Yang, Z., Zhang, C., 2008. The saccharification–membrane retrieval–hydrolysis (SMRH) process: a novel approach for cleaner production of diosgenin derived from Dioscorea zingiberensis Journal of Cleaner Production 16, 1133-1137.Zi Li Liu, Xin Fa Dong, Zhao Tie Liu, Qi Hai Liu (Editors) The rhizomes also produces steroidal saponins (TSS) as part of a treatment for cardiovascular disease.
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