Tubers of many of the dioscoreas have long been used for food, as they are rich in starch. These yams are considered famine foods consumed in times of scarcity. The species is considered a medicinal plant of major importance in higher elevation regions of Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and southwestern China. The plant is used both as traditional medicine and as a source of steroidal drugs for conventional medicine. Though used traditionally as medicine in Nepal and Pakistan, it is not used in Ayurveda. The rhizomes are traditionally used in western Himalayas to launder raw wool and woollen fabrics owing to their saponin content. Among the hill tribe communities of Jammu and Kashmir, the rhizomes are made into soap used to kill lice. The principal sapogenin diosgenin is an important starting material in the synthesis of steroidal hormones. Diosgenin is converted to 16-DPA, which is then used as a substrate for corticosteroids, pregnenes, androstenes and 19-norsteroids.