WILD YAM POWDER

Wild yam is a plant. It contains a chemical called diosgenin. This chemical can be converted in the laboratory into various steroids, such as estrogen and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). The root and the bulb of the plant are used as a source of diosgenin, which is prepared as an “extract,” a liquid that contains concentrated diosgenin. However, while wild yam does seem to have some estrogen-like activity, it is not actually converted into estrogen in the body. It takes a laboratory to do that. Sometimes wild yam and diosgenin are promoted as a “natural DHEA.” This is because in the laboratory DHEA is made from diosgenin. But this chemical reaction is not believed to occur in the human body. So, taking wild yam extract will not increase DHEA levels in people.

Wild yam is most commonly used as a “natural alterative” to estrogen therapy for symptoms of menopause, infertility, menstrual problems, and other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these or other uses.