Purity: 98%

Appearance: White crystalline porwer

Applications/Function: Diosgenin, a steroid sapogenin, is the product of hydrolysis by acids, strong bases, or enzymes of saponins, extracted from the tubers of Dioscorea wild yam. The sugar-free (aglycone), diosgenin is used for the commercial synthesis of cortisone, pregnenolone, progesterone, and other steroid products.It is present in Costus speciosus, Smilax menispermoidea, species of Paris, Trigonella, and Trillium, and many species of Dioscorea - D. althaeoides, colletti, futschauensis, gracillima, hispida, hypoglauca, mexicana nipponica, panthaica, parviflora, septemloba, and zingiberensis. Diosgenin is the precursor for the semisynthesis of progesterone which in turn was used in early combined oral contraceptive pills. The unmodified steroid has estrogenic activity and can reduce the level of serum cholesterol.