Botanical Index No. 1122

Wild Yam

dioscorea villosa

Medicinal Actions

Analeptic, Analgesic, Antiinflammatory, Antioxidant, Antirheumatic, Antispasmodic, Antiulcer, Cholagogue, Diaphoretic, Diuretic, Emetic, Estrogenic, Expectorant, Hepatoprotective, Hypocholesterolemic, Hypoglycemic, Mastogenic, Myorelaxant, Colic

Primary Conditions Treated

Bitter Angina Appendicitis Arthrosis Asthma Atherosclerosis Biliousness Childbirth Cholecystosis Cholera Conjunctivosis Cramp Dysentery Dysmenorrhea Enterosis Fever Frigidity Gallstone Gas Gastrosis Headache Hemorrhoid Hepatosis Hiccup High Cholesterol High Triglycerides Hyperglycemia Hysteria IBS Impotence Inflammation Ischiosis Jaundice Low HDL Menopause Morning Sickness Myosis Nausea Nephrosis Neuropathy Neurasthenia Pain Parturition Rheumatism Spermatorrhea Stomachache Syphilis Tenesmus Tension Ulcer VD Vomiting Water Retention

General Dosage

250–500 mg root/day; 2–4 g powdered root; 40–400 mg powdered root; 1–2 tsp fresh root; 2–4 g dry root; 3 g dry root:15 ml alcohol/15 ml water; 2–3 ml root tincture 3–4 ×/day; 0.5 tsp root tincture 2 ×/day; 20–60 drops root tincture; 2–4 ml liquid root extract/day; 2 capsules/day; 1 StX capsule/day; 2–4 fluid oz decoction.

Safety & Contraindications

Class 1. Large doses of tincture are emetic. While the medicinal yams may be so rich in saponins as to be distasteful, overconsumption is not to be recommended. Reichert reports GI distress in volunteers taking high doses of wild yam, after saying that the investigators he was reviewing “noted no adverse effects.” Gruenwald warns that overdoses could lead to picrotoxin-like poisonings due to dioscorin. Diosgenin may reduce antiinflammatory effects of indomethacin. May be additively estrogenic with true estrogen. Use may be inappropriate in hormonal disorders. Use during pregnancy not advised. Limit children’s use to 1 week. Starter material for progesterone, testosterone, and other steroids and corticosteroids.

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