Botany
Ditiran is a slightly hairy or nearly smooth vine, reaching a length of 5 to 6 meters, with drooping branches. Leaves are entire, ovate to oblong-ovate, 7 to 14 centimeters long, with pointed tips and subtruncate bases. Racemes are slender, elongated, drooping, 20 to 40 centimeters long, and borne in the upper axils. Flowers are numerous, shortly pedicelled, greenish-white, with reflexed segments, and about 1.5 millimeter long. Stamens are white and erect. Fruit is ovoid, fleshy, red, about 4 millimeters long.

Distribution
- Common in thickets at low and medium altitudes in Ilocos Norte to Batangas Provinces in Luzon; and in Mindoro.
- Also occurs in India to China and southward to Australia.

Properties
- Plant thought to be poisonous to a certain degree; the root can cause violent sneezing.
- As vegetable, cooking significantly decreases sodium content of leaves. (4)
- Roots are sternutatory.

Constituents
- Fruits yielded a new triterpenoid saponin, 3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1----3)-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl]-28-O-[beta-D-xylopyranosyl (1----2)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-3 beta-hydroxyolean-12-en-28-oate, with two known saponins, 3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1----3)-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl]-3 beta- hydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid and 3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1----3)-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl]-28-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-3 beta- hydroxyolean-12-en-oate. (1)
- Micro-mineral analysis of raw and cooked green leafy vegetables (mg/100g of edible portion) yielded: Fe 16.78 ±2.79 (raw) 16.14 ±1.78 (cooked), Zn 0.63 ±0.13 (r) 0.62 ±0.09 (c), Cu 0.37 ±0.05 (r) 0.43 ±0.05 (c), Mn 0.57 ±0.09 (r) 0.58 ±0.10 (c), Cr 0.075 ±0.011 (r) 0.076 ±0.013 (c). (4)
- Macro-mineral analysis (mg/100 gram edible portion) yielded: Na 16.5 ±1.4 (r) 12.3 ±1.8 (c), K 317.8 ±27.2 (r) 243.7 ±21.7 (c), Ca 251.7 ±24.3 (r) 243.7 ±21.7 (c), Mg 143.3 ±11.3 (r) 112.7 ±10.4 (c), P 52.7 ±4.2 (r) 37.2 ± 3.1 (c). (4)

Parts used
Leaves and roots.

Uses
Edibility
- In northeast India, leaf eaten as vegetable.
Folkloric
- In the Philippines decoction of leaves used for dysentery.
- In Java, mucous obstruction of the nose is treated by draining the nostrils with an infusion of the root with vinegar and alum.
- Some consider the root "poisonous" to a certain degree, or an irritant, as it can cause violent sneezing.
- Leaves are applied to sores.
- In the northwest Himalayas, roots used as sternutatory; least as antiseptic, applied on boils and sores.
- In India, fruit used as anti-cancer; roots used to treat jaundice.
- In the Dakshin Dinajpur district of India, young mature stem along with stem of "Chotchota" Triumfetta rhomboidea is worn as a garland to cure jaundice. (6)
- In the northwest Himalaya, leaf used as antiseptic, applied on boils and sores. (7)

Studies
• New Saponins: Study of fruits yielded a new triterpenoid saponin together with two known saponins. (See constituents above) (1)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
A new saponin from Deeringia amaranthoides / Sati O P, Bahuguna S et al / J-Nat-Prod. 1990 Mar-Apr; 53(2): 466-9
(2)
Deeringia amaranthoides (Lam.) Merr. (accepted name) / Chinese names / Catalogue of Life, China
(3)
Medicinal Plants of Sewa River Catchment Area in the Northwest Himalaya and its Implication for Conservation / Mahroof Khan, Satish Kumar and Irshad Ahmed Hamal / Ethnobotanical Leaflets 13: 1113- 39, 2009.
(4)
Mineral content of some wild green leafy vegetables of North-East India / Pankaj Saikia* and Dibakar Chandra Deka / Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, 2013, 5(3):117-121
(5)
Natural sources as potential anti-cancer agents: A review / Abhishek Bhanot, Rohini Sharma, Malleshappa N. Noolvi* / International Journal of Phytomedicine 3 (2011) 09-26
(6)
Local folk use of plants in Dakshin Dinajpur district of West Bengal, India / Chowdhury Tanmay, De Sarker Dilip and Roy Chandra Subhas / International Research Journal of Biological Sciences, Vol. 3(5), 67-79, May (2014)
(7)
Medicinal Plants of Sewa River Catchment Area in the Northwest Himalaya and its Implication for Conservation / Mahroof Khan, Satish Kumar and Irshad Ahmed Hamal / Ethnobotanical Leaflets 13: 1113- 39, 2009.