Research Progress on Purple Yam

Purple yam is a variety of yams with purple red meat. It has received increasing attention and become the favorite of consumers with its attractive tuber color, nutritional profile, and health benefits. The cultivation and research on purple yam are currently actively carried out in China. However, at present, the greatest majority of the purple yams are native varieties with significant variations on quality and yield; only limited number of varieties are available for selection; low consumer awareness on the producdthinders sales; the agriculture is immature and remains in an exploratory stage for areas; and, there are scant value-added, processed products on the market which further ill-affects product safety, shelf life and profit margin. Those are areas that need to be improved upon. This article reviews literature concerning the germplasm, cultivation, seedling propagation, nutrition(nutrients such as, anthocyanin, polysaccharide, allantoin, diosgenin, glycoprotein, phenolic acids, etc.), health functionalities, and utilization of purple yams.Proposals on collection and evaluation of germplasms for breeding specialty varieties, studies on pharmacological applications and processing technologies, standardization of cultivation practice, as well as, development and promotion of value-added products are presented to hopefully usher in a sustainable purple yam agriculture in the nation.