Steroid glycosides from suspension cultures of Dioscorea deltoidea cells and their biological activity.

Abstract

In the pharmaceutical industry, steroid medications (corticosteroids, sex hormones and contraceptives) are produced mainly from plant steroids. Diosgenin, a product of acid hydrolysis of spirostanol and furostanol glycosides from rhizomes of Dioscorea species, is a major source of steroids. Dioscorea deltoidea Wall found in the Himalayas is rich in diosgenin (up to 6.7%).1 However, the collection of rhizomes is accompanied by the elimination of natural and cultivated plants, a factor that stimulates the search for new sources of diosgenin. Dioscorea tissue cultures are a potential source of diosgenin and steroid glycosides.KeywordsSuspension CulturePotato TuberSteroid GlycosideDioscorea SpeciesPlant SteroidThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.