RESUMO
In order to provide a reference for the future development, the development status of Dioscoreae Rhizoma (also called Chinese yam) has been analyzed in the view of invention patent. We made the use of Espacenet and World Traditional Medicine Patent Database to collect patent information at first. Then we performed a series of process on the collected dataset, including screening, sorting, statistics, analysis, and visualization, with the help of Python, R, SQLite, and other tools. We got the development status information of Chinese yam that reflected in patent data, involving situation, trends, international structure, function preferences, and compatibility preferences. In the perspective of patents, Chinese yam is currently in the early stages of development-term, the development space is huge for future. Chinese mainland has invested a lot in the research of Chinese yam, comparing with other regions in the world. Chinese mainland owns the major part of international patent applications. The U.S. is the most attractive region for the applicants. Chinese yam is usually used in the treatment of digestive diseases, metabolic diseases, and systemic protection or anti-depress, detailed use includes helping digestion, treatment of hyperglycemia, and enhancing immunity. The ideal in common compatibility herbs is Gan-Wen-Yi-Qi, Bu-Pi-Yi-Qi, and others.