All.Family: Liliaceae.
Habitat: Temperate Himalayas and Manipur.
Ayurvedic: Medaa. (Substitute: Asparagus racemosus.)Unani: Shaqaaqul. (Substitute: Pastinaca secacul.)Folk: Mithaa-dudhiaa.Action: Used in Tibetan medicine for treating emaciation, senility, pulmonary affections. The rhizomes is valued as salep.
The dried rhizomes contain 6.2-9% diosgenin.The lactins of the rootstock did not contain carbohydrates; the amino acid revealed presence of 28% aspartic acid and asparagine.The plant exhibits diuretic properties. It gave a digitalis glucoside and is considered poisonous by the hill people in the Himalayas.