Wild Yam
Dioscorea villosa
Other names: Wild Yam
Photo credit: Phyzome (Wikimedia Commons)
Safety information
Safety information
Toxicity: Use with care. | None known reported.
Contraindications: Avoid in pregnancy. | None specifically reported.
Interactions: None specifically noted. | None reported.
Pregnancy & breastfeeding: Avoid in pregnancy.
Evidence level
Supported by laboratory or animal studies; not yet confirmed in humans.
Preparations
decoction · dried underground parts
Part used: dried underground parts
Traditional use: Traditionally used as an antispasmodic for intestinal colic, diverticulitis, dysmenorrhoea and ovarian/uterine pain, and for the acute inflammatory phase of rheumatoid arthritis.
How to prepare (traditional): Decoction: put 1-2 teaspoons of herb in 1 cup of water, bring to a boil and simmer gently 10-15 minutes.
Dosage note (descriptive only): Drunk three times a day.
tincture · dried underground parts
Part used: dried underground parts
Traditional use: Antispasmodic.
How to prepare (traditional): Tincture at 1:5 in 40% alcohol.
Dosage note (descriptive only): 2-4 ml three times a day.
decoction · root
Part used: root
Traditional use: Traditionally used for digestive problems including IBS.
How to prepare (traditional): Decoction made from the root and tuber (harvested in autumn).
Dosage note (descriptive only): For irritable bowel syndrome, the book suggests about 1/3 cup (75 ml) twice a day.
tincture · root
Part used: root
Traditional use: Traditionally used for arthritis and muscle/menstrual cramps.
How to prepare (traditional): Tincture of the root and tuber, taken with water.
Dosage note (descriptive only): For arthritis, the book suggests 1/2 tsp with water twice a day.
Associated conditions
Nutritional notes
Not a food.
Healing traditions
Sources (2)
- Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine (book, p.91) — Andrew Chevallier, English, 2016
- Hoffmann D., Medical Herbalism (2003) — materia medica, Dioscorea villosa