Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, Elephant Foot Yam, Kanda, Suranam

 Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson
Family: Araceae

Synonyms: Amorphophallus campanulatus Decne., Amorphophallus chatty Andrews, Amorphophallus decurrens (Blanco) Kunth, Amorphophallus dixenii K.Larsen & S.S.Larsen, Amorphophallus dubius Blume, Amorphophallus giganteus Blume, Amorphophallus gigantiflorus Hayata, Amorphophallus malaccensis Ridl., Amorphophallus microappendiculatus Engl., Amorphophallus rex Prain, Amorphophallus sativus Blume, Amorphophallus virosus N.E.Br., Arum campanulatum Roxb., Arum decurrens Blanco, Arum phalliferum Oken, Arum rumphii Gaudich., Arum rumphii Oken, Candarum hookeri Schott, Candarum roxburghii Schott, Candarum rumphii Schott, Conophallus giganteus Schott ex Miq., Conophallus sativus (Blume) Schott, Dracontium paeoniifolium Dennst., Dracontium polyphyllum Dennst., Dracontium polyphyllum G.Forst., Hydrosme gigantiflora (Hayata) S.S.Ying, Kunda verrucosa Raf., Plesmonium nobile Schott, Pythion campanulatum Mart., Amorphophallus rex Prain ex Hook. f., Amorphophallus campanulatus var. blumei Prain, Amorphophallus campanulatus f. darnleyensis F.M.Bailey, Amorphophallus paeoniifolius var. campanulatus (Decne.) Sivad.

English: Elephant Foot Yam, whitespot giant arum
Bengali: ওল, ওল শাক
Chinese: 鸡爪芋
Dutch: Olifantenyam
French: Serpent
Gujarati: સૂરણ
Hindi: जिमीकंद
Indonesian: Suweg
Japanese: konjac
Kannada: ಸುವರ್ಣ ಗೆಡ್ಡೆ
Malayalam: ചേന chena
Marathi: सुरण
Russian: Аморфофаллус пионолистный
Sanskrit: सूरणम्
Sinhala: කිඩාරං
Spanish: Suran
Tamil: Karunai kilangu கருணைக்கிழங்கு
Telugu: కంద
Thai: บุกคางคก
Vietnamese: Nưa chuông

Description: Corm to 20 cm across, depressed globose, tubercled, pale pink inside. Petiole to 50 cm long, 3-4 cm thick, green with brown patches; lamina 70-120 cm across; lobes to 14 x 5.5 mm, ovate, acuminate, decurrent at base into a wing to the petiole; nerves impressed above. Spathe 38 cm across, campanulate, undulate, dull greenish brown; spadix as long as spathe; appendage obovoid, 20-25 cm across, uneven, rugose, deep pink. Flowers on the lower half of the spadix. Berry 15 x 10 mm, oblong, obovoid, orange-red, glabrous.

Parts used: Corm/tuber and root, seed, petiole

ACTIONS  AND  USES: Corm  is  acrid,  pungent,  antiasthmatic,  antidysenteric,  antiemetic, carminative, expectorant, restorative, stomachic and tonic.  It is used in piles, dysentery, acute rheumatism, dyspepsia, enlargement of spleen, elephantiasis, haemorrhoids, abdominal pain and tumours. Seeds are used  locally  in  rheumatic  swellings  while  fermented  juice  of  petiole  in diarrhoea.  It  is  beneficial  for    bronchitis, vomitting  and  blood  diseases.  Root  is emmenagogue and beneficial in boils and ophthalmia. [DATABASE ON MEDICINAL PLANTS USED IN AYURVEDA VOLUME 8]

6 Published articles of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius
1. A phytopharmacological review on an important medicinal plant - Amorphophallus paeoniifolius.
By: Dey, Yadu Nandan; Ota, Sarada; Srikanth, N; et al.
Ayu  Volume: 33   Issue: 1   Pages: 27-32   Published: 2012-Jan

2. Synergistic depressant activity of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius in Swiss albino mice.
By: Dey, Yadu Nandan; De, Shankhajit; Ghosh, Ajoy Kumar; et al.
Journal of pharmacology & pharmacotherapeutics  Volume: 2   Issue: 2   Pages: 121-3   Published: 2011-Ap

3. Antioxidant potential of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius in relation to their phenolic content
By: Angayarkanni, Jayaraman; Ramkumar, Kunga Mohan; Priyadharshini, Ulaganathan; et al.
Pharmaceutical Biology  Volume: 48   Issue: 6   Pages: 659-665   Published: JUN 10 2010

4. Effects of Petroleum Ether Extract of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius Tuber on Central Nervous System in Mice
By: Das, S. S.; Sen, Malini; Dey, Y. N.; et al.
Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences  Volume: 71   Issue: 6   Pages: 651-655   Published: NOV-DEC 2009

5. Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers in Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson, Araceae
By: Santosa, E.; Lian, C. L.; Pisooksantivatana, Y.; et al.
Molecular Ecology Notes  Volume: 7   Issue: 5   Pages: 814-817   Published: SEP 2007

6. MORPHOLOGICAL ANATOMICAL AND CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF AMORPHOPHALLUS-PAEONIIFOLIUS AND RELATED TAXA
By: WIDJAJA E A; LESTER R N
Reinwardtia  Volume: 10   Issue: 3   Pages: 271-280   Published: 1987