Dioscorea nipponica, Chuan Shan Long 穿山龙

Nippon Yam, Japanese Dioscorea, Japanese Yam
Chuan Shan Long (TCM)

Uses:

1. Clears Wind-Damp, Relieve Pain:

-Wind-Damp joint disease, especially with numbness
-Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis
-pain and numbness of the Lower Back and legs, Sciatica
-stiffness and difficulty stretching and flexing
-can be used for Hot or Cold types of Wind-Damp pain (commonly used for Heat-type)

2. Move the Blood, Unblocks the Channels, Resolve Stasis:

-Lumbar sprain
-Chest pain, Rheumatic Endocarditis
-Trauma, Bruising
-Swollen sores, Toxic Ulcers

3. Clears Phlegm-Heat, Stops Cough and Asthma:

-Lung heat Cough, chronic Bronchitis, Asthma

4. Resists Poison:

-Malarial disorders
-internally and applied topically to toxic sores, abscesses and swellings
-foul, non-healing Ulcers

5. Externally:

i. tincture is applied to joint pain
ii. decoction is used as a wash for toxic Sores and Swellings

Main Combinations:

1. Joint Pain:
i. Dioscorea nipponica Chuan Shan Long with Trachelospermum Luo Shi Teng, Lonicera stem Ren Dong Teng
2. Heart disease:
i. with Hawthorn (Shan Zha)
ii. with Blood stasis, with Sophora Flos Huai Hua
3. Chest pain, Dioscorea nipponica Chuan Shan Long with Sophora flower Huai Hua
4. Bruising, Trauma, with brown sugar and wine
5. Lung Heat Cough, Bronchitis:
i. decoct alone and take with Brown Sugar (or Honey)
ii. Dioscorea nipponica Chuan Shan Long with Trichosanthes Fructus Quan Gua Lou, Scutellaria Huang Qin
iii. Dioscorea nipponica Chuan Shan Long with Scutellaria Huang Qin, Almond kernel (Xing Ren), Platycodon Jie Geng