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Wild yam

Supplement botanical women's health
Aka: Dioscorea villosa, diosgenin
Brands seen in Singapore: Nature's Way, Swanson Vitamins, Solaray, Herb Pharm, Nature's Answer
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Sold for menopause — the one trial found no symptom effect
Studied for
The trial ran 3 months of cream after a 4-week baseline
Pros & cons
Pros
  • One double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial
  • No significant side-effects over 3 months in 23 women
Cons
  • No symptom, lipid or hormone change vs placebo
  • Diosgenin does not convert to progesterone in the body
  • Many yam creams have been found to contain adulterants
Sources
  1. Effects of wild yam extract on menopausal symptoms, lipids and sex hormones in healthy menopausal women (Komesaroff et al., Climacteric 2001) — abstract via Europe PMC, methods · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “We therefore conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study of the effects of a wild yam cream in 23 healthy women suffering from troublesome symptoms of the menopause.”
  2. Komesaroff et al., Climacteric 2001 — baseline period and treatment duration · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “After a 4-week baseline period, each woman was given active cream and matching placebo for 3 months in random order.”
  3. Komesaroff et al., Climacteric 2001 — results · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “there were no changes in weight, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, or levels of total serum cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, FSH, glucose, estradiol, or serum or salivary progesterone”
  4. Komesaroff et al., Climacteric 2001 — conclusions · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “short-term treatment with topical wild yam extract in women suffering from menopausal symptoms is free of side-effects, but appears to have little effect on menopausal symptoms”
  5. Botanicals and Their Bioactive Phytochemicals for Women's Health (Dietz et al., Pharmacological Reviews 2016), section on Dioscorea villosa (wild yam) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Wild yam contains diosgenin, which is used in the manufacturing of synthetic steroids. Diosgenin can be chemically converted to progesterone, although there is no biological pathway for the conversion in vivo”
  6. Dietz et al., Pharmacological Reviews 2016 — the wild yam cream trial as summarised in the review · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “When given as a cream, there was no significant effect on menopausal symptoms in 23 women after 3 months compared with placebo. No significant adverse effects were reported.”
  7. Dietz et al., Pharmacological Reviews 2016 — current recommendation on wild yam creams · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The current recommendations are that yam creams are ineffective for menopause and because many contain adulterants they should be avoided”
  8. HSA Singapore — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev. No. 001 (October 2025), Annex A (118 rows) and Annex B (4 rows) — wild yam / Dioscorea villosa / diosgenin is NOT LISTED in either annex; Annex A runs 40. Digitalis spp. then 41. Drimia maritima, where 'Dioscorea' and 'Diosgenin' rows would fall · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The objective of this guideline is to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list.”
  9. HSA Singapore — Health Supplements Guidelines GL-CHPB-3-001 Rev. No. 020 (January 2026), clause 4.8 with Tables 4–5 (vitamins and minerals only — no botanical rows) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “4.8 HS for use by the general adult population should not contain vitamins and minerals exceeding the stipulated limits stated in Tables 4 and 5.”
  10. HSA Singapore — Health Supplements Guidelines GL-CHPB-3-001 Rev. No. 020 (January 2026), clause 6.6 and Table 6 (diseases/conditions not allowed for health supplements), reproductive-system row · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “HS must not be labelled, advertised or promoted for any specific medicinal purpose … Reproductive system: Menstrual disorders, sexual dysfunction, infertility, frigidity, impotency, conception, pregnancy”
  11. iHerb Singapore — Wild Yam category page, default listing order · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “1 - 10 of 10 results: Nature's Way, Wild Yam Root; Swanson Vitamins, Wild Yam Root; Solaray, PhytoEstrogen With Wild Yam, Black Cohosh & Dong Quai; Herb Pharm, Wild Yam; Nature's Answer, Wild Yam 220 mg; Nutricost, Wild Yam Root”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.