Dioscorea bulbifera, Huang Yao Zi 黄药子

Air Potato, Potato Yam
Varahi, Varahikanda (Ayurveda)
Barahikand (Unani)
Kodi-kilangu, Pannu-kilangu (Siddha)
Huang Yao Zi (TCM)
 Picture
Picture Ben Cao Tu Pu, 1644 (Welcome)

Picture Dioscorea bulbifera
(Seikei Zusetsu, 1804, Leiden University Library)

Picture Dioscorea bulbifera
(Photo by Forest and Kim Starr) (Wikimiedia)

 Picture Dioscorea bulbifera fresh tuber
(Photo by Rémi Tournebize) (Wikimiedia)

Botanical name:


Dioscorea bulbifera (syn. D. sativa, D. versicolor)

Parts used:


Tuber

Temperature & Taste:


Cool, dry. Bitter, Sweet.
Some accounted in Neutral

Classification:


P. Clears Hot Phlegm

Uses:


1. Clears Phlegm-Heat, Stops Cough and Wheezing: (TCM)
-Cough, acute and chronic Bronchitis
-Whooping Cough
-Tuberculosis

2. Clears Phlegm-Heat, Reduce Masses: (TCM)
-Goiter, Thyroid Swellings; it can be used alone in a tincture
-Lymphatic Nodes and Swellings
-Toxic Swellings, Tumors; Cancers of the Stomach, Bowels, Uterus, Lung, Esophagus etc
-Orchitis

3. Cools the Blood, Stops Bleeding: (TCM)
-Coughing Blood, Vomiting Blood
-Uterine Bleeding
-Dysentery or Diarrhea with Blood

4. Clears Heat, Resists Poison: (TCM, Ayurveda)
-Dysentery, Hemorrhoids
-Venereal Sores (Roasted Tuber) (Ayurveda)
-Chronic Skin diseases; Itchiness (API)
-Sore, Swollen and Painful Throat
-Animal Bites; Insect Stings; Snake Bite, Dog Bite

5. Clears Heat and Damp: (Ayurveda)
-chronic Urinary diseases

6. Kills Worms and Parasites:
-used for Parasites (Ayurveda)

7. Externally:
-powdered tuber is applied to Boils, Swellings, Ulcers (Ayurveda)
-tincture is applied to Psoriasis
-tincture can be applied to the Cervix for Cervical Dysplasia


Dose:


1. Side effects like dry mouth, reduced appetite, nausea and abdominal pain can occur within normal dosage range.
2. Generally not used for more than 2–3 weeks without a break.
3. If used for more than 2 weeks, regular Liver function tests should be performed.
Powder: 3–6 grams (API)
Decoction: 6–15 grams (TCM)

Substitute
1. Dioscorea bulbifera is used as a substitute for Habenaria edgeworthii and H. intermedia (Riddhi) in Ayurveda

Correctives:


1. Angelica Dang Gui
2. Licorice

Main Combinations:


1. Sore and Swelling of the Throat, Dioscorea bulbifera and Belamcanda She Gan
1. Cough, Bronchitis:
i. Dioscorea bulbifera and Licorice
ii. Whooping Cough, Dioscorea bulbifera and Rock Candy
2. Goiter:
i. Dioscorea bulbifera and Self Heal (Xia Ku Cao)
ii. Dioscorea bulbifera and Sargassum Hai Zao (or Kelp)
3. Bleeding, Dioscorea bulbifera and Typha Pu Huang
4. Thyroid Swellings, Dioscorea bulbifera, Sargassum Hai Zao, Kelp (Kun Bu), Self Heal (Xia Ku Cao)
5. Toxic Swellings:
i. Dioscorea bulbifera and Dandelion (Pu Gong Ying), Self Heal (Xia Ku Cao)
ii. Dioscorea bulbifera and Lonicera Jin Yin Hua, Violet (Zi Hua Di Ding)
6. Cancer:
i. Dioscorea bulbifera and Oldenlandia Bai Hua She She Cao, Scutellaria barbata Ban Zhi Lian
ii. of the Lungs, Dioscorea bulbifera, Scutellaria barbata Ban Zhi Lian with Dandelion (Pu Gong Ying), Coptis Huang Lian, Pinellia Ban Xia, Trichosanthes Gua Lou. (Clinical trials showed an effective rate of 60%)
7. Alzheimer’s Disease, Dioscorea bulbifera, Bacopa, Sea Buckthorn (this is a researched formula, see below)

Major Formulas:


Narasimha Churna

Cautions:


1. Not used long-term; large doses or long-term use can damage Stomach and Liver.
2. Avoid use in those with Liver disease. Liver function should be monitored with continued use.
3. Chronic usage was claimed to make the hair fall out in older TCM texts.

Toxicity:


1. Overdose causes burning sensation in the mouth, tongue and throat, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, contracted pupils, which may lead to respiratory distress, and death.
2. Chronic use can cause toxic hepatitis.
3. Doses of as little as 15 grams per day has caused Jaundice and Liver damage. A dose of 36 grams per day taken for 45 days caused death in one patient.

Drug Interactions:
1. Use cautiously or avoid in patients using medicines with hepatotoxicity. Concomitant use may increase Liver toxicity.
2. Enhances toxicity of Doxirubicin. Care when used in conjunction with Chemotherapy

Main Preparations used:



  • Extra Info
  • Research
History
ANTI-BACTERIAL:
–Antibacterial activities of the extracts, fractions and compounds from Dioscorea bulbifera.

ANTI-VIRAL:
–HIV: Anti-HIV-1 integrase compounds from Dioscorea bulbifera and molecular docking study.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY:
–Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Extracts from the Bulbils of Dioscorea bulbifera L. var sativa (Dioscoreaceae) in Mice and Rats.

ANALGESIC:
–Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Extracts from the Bulbils of Dioscorea bulbifera L. var sativa (Dioscoreaceae) in Mice and Rats.

ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE:
–Management of cognitive determinants in senile dementia of Alzheimer’s type: therapeutic potential of a novel polyherbal drug product.

ANTI-DIABETIC:
–The intake of yam (Dioscorea bulbifera Linn) attenuated the hyperglycemia and the bone fragility in female diabetic rats.
–Antidiabetic Activity of Gnidia glauca and Dioscorea bulbifera: Potent Amylase and Glucosidase Inhibitors.

ANTI-TUMOR:
–Antitumor activity of Dioscorea bulbifera L. rhizome in vivo.
–Antitumor-promoting constituents from Dioscorea bulbifera L. in JB6 mouse epidermal cells
 ANTI-CANCER:
–[Anticancer effects of various fractions extracted from Dioscorea bulbifera on mice bearing HepA].
CERVICAL:
–Dioscorea bulbifera polysaccharide and cyclophosphamide combination enhances anti-cervical cancer effect and attenuates immunosuppression and oxidative stress in mice.
COLORECTAL:
–Dioscorea bulbifera induced apoptosis through inhibition of ERK 1/2 and activation of JNK signaling pathways in HCT116 human colorectal carcinoma cells.
LIVER:
–Steroidal saponins from the rhizomes of Dioscorea bulbifera and their cytotoxic activity.

HEPATOTOXIC EFFECT:
–Investigation of Dioscorea bulbifera Rhizome-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats by a Multisample Integrated Metabolomics Approach.
–Protection of Angelica sinensis (Oliv) Diels against hepatotoxicity induced by Dioscorea bulbifera L. and its mechanism.
–[Evaluation on hepatotoxicity caused by Dioscorea bulbifera based on analysis of bile acids].
–Study of the hepatotoxicity induced by Dioscorea bulbifera L. rhizome in mice.
–[Studies on liver-toxicity in rhigoma of Dioscorea bulbifera].
–[Experimental pathological study of subacute intoxication by Dioscorea bulbifera L].

AGGRAVATES DOXIRUBICIN TOXICITY:
–Dioscorea bulbifera L. delays the excretion of doxorubicin and aggravates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and nephrotoxicity by inhibiting the expression of P-glycoprotein in mice liver and kidney.