Jarrod Booker writes in the NZ Herald that the yam has been found to produce progesterone.
This finding is of note as progesterone has been found to improve the survival chances of those who have suffered serious brain injury.
An excerpt: (read in full here)
“Dr Donald Stein, a neuroscientist from the United States’ Emory University School of Medicine, is visiting Canterbury University for six weeks and discussing the progesterone research he has led.
“It is being tested in advanced trials involving thousands of people around the world.
…
“”I don’t think this is something that necessarily has to take another 25 years to get out. Because if this works, it’s dirt cheap, it’s easy to administer, it’s safe to give, it doesn’t require any high technology.””