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Wild yam

Wild yam, is also known as Mexican Yam, Wild Mexican Yam, Atlantic Yam, Barbasco, China Root, Colic Root, Devil's Bones, Rheumatism Root, Yuma. Its scientific names are Discorea Villosa, Discorea Floribunda, Discorea Composita, Discorea Mexicana, Discorea Macrostachya from the family Dioscoreaceae. The wild yam plant is native to North and Central America but can now be found in many semitropical and temperate areas throughout the world. The medicinal part of the plant is the yellowish dried rhizome and root or tuber which contains steroidal saponins (mainly dioscin), isoquinuclidine alkaloids (dioscorin), phytoesterols (beta-sitosterol) and tannins. Steroidal saponin, mainly dioscorin, could be converted into diosgenin, a precursor of progesterone and the corticosteroids. Wild yam has been studied for years for their medicinal effects. In the Chinese pharmacopoeia, the medicinal uses of Dioscorea rhizome are prescribed for indigestion, anorexia, diarrhea and diabetes. Dioscorea sp. has many superior characteristics in the rhizome such as high viscosity and high contents of viscous polysaccharide comprising carbohydrate, mannose, arabinose, glucose, galactose, xylose, and rhamnose, starch, protein, vitamins and minerals. It also contains dioscin, diosgenin, phytic acid, allantoin, dopamine, batatasin, dioscorea-mucilage B, and sterols. This herb has been used as an anti-inflammatory, relieving spasmodic pain in the female reproductive organs. The tubers of the dioscorea species contain the Glycoside Diosgenin which is a steroid precursor that has been used in the commercial production of estrogens and progestegens. It is reported that, the steroid of Dioscorea, diosgenin, induces morphological and biochemical changes characteristic of megakaryocyte cells when diosgenin is added to human erythroleukemia (HEL) cell cultures, and thus, diosgenin can be used as a megakaryocytic differentiation inducer of HEL cells. The wild yam root and tuber have antispasmodic properties capable of easing menstrual cramps, as well as muscle relaxing, diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties. Key constituents of wild yam are starch and natural hormonal and steroidal compounds. Wild yam possesses glycoside saponins and diosgenins, hormonal precursors to cortical steroids that help reduce pain. It assists with problems of the liver and gall bladder.

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