What are the side effects of Huangyaozi?

Dioscorea bulbifera, also known as Vernicia cinnabarinum, is a twining herbaceous vine and a plant with rhizomes. It has certain effects on the treatment of various diseases in normal times. It is a traditional Chinese medicine. However, it may also have serious side effects when used and may cause serious liver damage. Therefore, it should be taken under the guidance of a doctor. What are the side effects of Dioscorea bulbifera? Let’s take a look at it together.

Side effects of Dioscorea bulbifera

Dioscorea bulbifera contains toxic ingredients such as diosgenin and dioscorea bulbifera terpenes, which can cause acute poisoning. Oral overdose can be toxic to the central nervous system, heart, liver, and kidneys.

The main symptoms after poisoning are: burning sensation in the mouth, tongue and throat, salivation, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, pupil constriction, and in severe cases, palpitations, convulsions, coma, difficulty breathing and heart paralysis. Damage to the liver manifests as hepatomegaly, jaundice, elevated alanine aminotransferase levels, positive urine bile, flank pain and distension, ascites, etc. Severe cases can cause hepatic coma.

The role of Dioscorea bulbifera:

1. Effect on the thyroid gland: Feeding normal rats with a diet containing 2% to 10% Dioscorea bulbifera for 4 weeks had no effect on body weight and thyroid function (basal metabolism, thyroid weight and iodine content); Dioscorea bulbifera had no effect on goiter caused by antithyroid drugs such as thiouracil and sulfapyridine (body weight, basal metabolic rate, thyroid weight and iodine content, serum protein-bound iodine and other indicators). It has an antagonistic effect on mild goiter caused by 0.1% potassium thiocyanate; it has a certain therapeutic effect on goiter caused by iodine-deficient food, which is manifested by a decrease in the weight of the enlarged thyroid gland and an increase in iodine bound to glandular tissue and serum protein. It also has an improving effect on spontaneous goiter in rats. The therapeutic effect of Dioscorea bulbifera is related to the iodine it contains.

2. Effect on the heart: The decoction and tincture of Dioscorea bulbifera have inhibitory effects on both isolated and in situ frog hearts.

3. Effect on smooth muscle: Dioscorea bulbifera tincture and decoction have an inhibitory effect on isolated rabbit intestine; they have an excitatory effect on the uterus of non-pregnant rabbits and guinea pigs, manifested as tonic contraction and rhythmic contraction. The excitatory effect on the uterus can be cancelled by diphenhydramine. The effect of tinctures is stronger and faster than that of decoctions.

4. Anti-pathogenic microbial effect: The water extract of Dioscorea bulbifera (1:3) has different degrees of inhibitory effect on skin fungi such as Trichophyton violaceum, Trichophyton concentricum, Trichophyton sylvatica, Microsporum audouinense, Microsporum ferrugineum, Microsporum woolly, Microsporum gypseum, Epidermophyton inguinale, Epidermophyton rubrum, and Nocardia asteroidea in test tubes. Dioscorea bulbifera extract (0.1 mg/ml) has a therapeutic effect on experimental herpes simplex virus keratitis in rabbits, can alleviate inflammatory lesions and shorten the recovery time.

5. Other effects: Experiments have shown that Dioscorea bulbifera has an inhibitory effect on mouse sarcoma 180 and cervical cancer U14. Dioscorea bulbifera fluid extract has hemostatic effect. Dioscorea bulbifera can inhibit the hyperplasia of the epidermis of psoriasis, promote keratinization of the stratum corneum, and correct incomplete keratinization to achieve the purpose of treating psoriasis.

Through the above introduction, we know what the side effects of Coptis chinensis are. When taking it to treat diseases, we need to pay attention to regularly checking our liver function, because it will cause serious damage to the liver. In addition, when taking it, we mainly do it under the guidance of a doctor and cannot use it blindly.