It was envisaged that the inclusion of treated distiller's spent grain (DSG) to yam flour might increase its nutritional value, with the aim of reducing nutritional diseases in communities consuming yam as a staple. Hence, yam flour was fortified with DSG at 5-35%. The effects of this fortification on the nutritional, chemical, and functional properties of yam flour were investigated. The resul...

The main objective of the paper was to examine the costs, returns and efficiency levels obtained by key players in the Ghanaian yam marketing chain. A total of 320 players/actors (farmers, wholesalers, retailers and cross-border traders) in the Ghanaian yam industry were selected from four districts (Techiman, Atebubu, Ejura-Sekyedumasi and Nkwanta) through a multi-stage sampling approach for t...

Yam (Dioscorea) has long been used as foods and folk medicine with the approved positive effects for health promotion. Although consumption of yam products is increasing for health promotion, reports for the metal contamination in commercial yam powder products to protect the consumers are lacking. In this study, we aimed to assess whether the commercial yam powder products were heavy metal con...

The root-knot nematodes (RKN), Meloidogyne spp., represent an important threat to yam (Dioscorea spp.) production in West Africa. With the aim to establish the diversity of RKN species affecting yam tubers, for control and resistance screening purposes, surveys were conducted in the main yam producing areas of Nigeria. Galled tubers (N = 48) were collected from farmers' stores and markets in ni...

Yam (Dioscorea batatas) is widely consumed as functional food for health promotion mainly in East Asia countries. We assessed whether yam root (tuber) or bark (peel) extracts stimulated the activity of osteoblasts for osteogenesis. MC3T3-E1 cells (mouse osteoblasts) were treated with yam root extracts (water or methanol) (study I) or bark extracts (water or hexane) (study II) within 0~10 μg/mL ...

The virulent Yersinia enterocolitica strain 8081 killed BALB/c mice within 5 days of oral infection with a 50% lethal dose of log10 7.1, whereas an aroA mutant of 8081, YAM.1, and the plasmidless variant 8081c failed to kill mice. Unlike 8081, YAM.1 and 8081c did not persist or grow in the Peyer's patches, mesenteric lymph nodes, livers, or spleens of mice. Mice immunized orally with single dos...

We studied the estrogenic activity and cellular effect of wild yam extract in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. The extract increased the activity of the progesterone receptor and pS2 genes at the mRNA levels in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells, although the effects were not as prominent as those of 17beta-estradiol (E(2)). Western blot analysis showed that the level of estrogen receptor alpha pr...

Members of the genus Dioscorea, food yams, were introduced to Jamaica from Africa during the slave era and have remained a staple in local diets and national cuisine. Yam cultivation has also been an important economic activity providing employment for thousands of rural Jamaicans. Until the 1960s yams were grown for local use by subsistence growers for home consumption or by commercial growers...

An extract of a rotenone-containing plant yam bean, Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urban, seeds was tested against the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) in a greenhouse to determine its potential as an oviposition deterrent and compared with coumarin and rutin, known as diamondback moth oviposition deterrent compounds, rotenone, and an extract of Peruvian cube root, at a concentration of 0.5%...

Yam has been recognized having the beneficial effects for the prevention of various diseases, such as cancer, immunity, infection and obesity etc. There is increasing consideration to supplement the antioxidant nutrients to make up the lack of the antioxidant nutrient intakes. No study has been reported for the analysis of antioxidant mineral contents and comparison to dietary recommended intak...