Dioscorea / Wild Yam

Wild yam contains diosgenin — a steroidal sapogenin used as the STARTING MATERIAL for pharmaceutical steroid hormone synthesis (progesterone, DHEA, cortisone). However: the human body CANNOT convert diosgenin to progesterone. This is a LABORATORY reaction requiring multiple chemical steps. Despite this, wild yam cream is marketed as 'natural progesterone' — this is pharmacologically impossible. Actual 'natural progesterone' creams contain USP progesterone made FROM diosgenin in a lab, not diosgenin itself. Our assessment: wild yam ≠ progesterone. The marketing is misleading. --- *Reviewed by the Dose AI Research Team and Clinical Advisory Board* *Last updated: 2026-04-06*