Diosgenin

Diosgenin, a phytosteroid sapogenin, is the product of hydrolysis by acids, strong bases, or enzymes of saponins, extracted from the tubers of Dioscorea wild yam species, such as the Kokoro. It is also present in smaller amounts in a number of other species. The sugar-free product of such hydrolysis, diosgenin is used for the commercial synthesis of cortisone, pregnenolone, progesterone, and other steroid products.

Industrial uses

Diosgenin is a chemical precursor for several hormones, starting with the Marker degradation process, which includes synthesis of progesterone. The process was used in the early manufacturing of combined oral contraceptive pills. Diosgenin in dietary supplements is not a physiological precursor to estradiol or progesterone, and the use of such products as wild yam has no estrogenic hormonal activity in the human body.