Bioactive Metabolites of Dioscorea Species and Their Potential Applications in Functional Food Development

Dioscorea species, known as "Yams", belong to the Dioscoreaceae family. Members of the Dioscoreaceae family are widely distributed across subtropical and tropical regions. They are notable for their high content of starch, dietary fiber, and various bioactive compounds. In addition to serving as a staple food source, these tubers possess significant medicinal value in traditional medicine, particularly for treating diabetes, diarrhea, and various inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to comprehensively summarize the active components and food development potential of Dioscorea species from research over the past decade by searching commonly used databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. This review highlights the classification of bioactive compounds in Dioscorea spp. using the NPClassifier tool. We discuss 60 representative bioactive metabolites, including terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, carbohydrates, fatty acids, alkaloids, and amino acids. Additionally, we discuss the functional food applications and regulations of Dioscorea spp., which possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anticancer properties. This review is expected to provide scientific ideas for future research related to prioritizing the optimization of extraction technologies, the execution of rigorous clinical trials to confirm therapeutic effects, and the exploration of novel applications of Dioscorea spp. bioactives to fully harness their potential in improving human health.